Not a Relaxing Vacation
by iMmoRtaLfrEnD704
Summary: Coincidence? I think not. We all ended up a the same hotel for our vacation! Was it a setup? Bad Summary. Just read please. Lots of funny. ShikaTema, NejiTenKan, HinaKiba, InoCho, NaruSaku.
1. What Do You Want?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**A/N:** Yes, this is a Shika/Tema fic, or as I like to call a Shikamari fic. There will also be other couples, I think. Just stay with me on this. It's going to be good.

**WRITTEN BEFORE CHAPTER 328. **

**Published September 2, 2006**

**Chapter 1 - What Do You Want?**

_Setting: After the two and a half year time skip. Shikamaru, Temari, Kankuro, Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, Sakura, Ino, and Chouji are on vacation. They just coincidently go to the same hotel in Tokyo (**A/N:** I couldn't think of anything else), present Japan at around the same time._

"Come in."

Shikamaru opened the door while sighing.

"You called Tsunade-sama? Don't tell me another mission. I just finished one. You know how troublesome it is." Shikamaru whined. He didn't want another mission. He had just done three A-Rank missions back-to-back. A fourth would just be more troublesome.

"Don't worry, Shikamaru. You're not going on another mission. You're actually going on vacation. I just got a free one-week stay at the best hotel in Japan since Konoha recently helped them with a small burglary. Lucky me, huh."

"Why are you telling me this? I know you can be mean sometimes, but showing off your free stuff is kind of on the rude side. I just want to go home and take a nap, maybe look at some clouds." Shikamaru said.

"Just sit," Tsunade said gesturing her left hand to the chair in front of her desk. "and listen to what I have to say." Shikamaru sat down.

"First off, I'm not just telling you about my wonderful gift to make you slightly jealous. Since I'm the Hokage, I can't go. Sad isn't it? I have way too much work to relax. So I've decided to let you go. It just seems fitting. You've been doing so much, plus you've been on the whiney side these days. So, you want to go or what…"

"You want me to go all the way to Tokyo to relax, when I can relax here in Konoha? I don't think so, too troublesome." Shikamaru shrugged while crossing his arms across his chest.

"You know, I hear Tokyo has the best clouds. Konoha will probably have a heatwave soon. No clouds to look up to. There would be no missions while on your trip. Plus, if you stay here, your mother will probably have you do some chores. But if you don't want to go, I guess I can…" Tsunade said until Shikamaru interrupted her.

"Okay, I guess I'll go. How am I being transported? I am not walking all the way to Tokyo. That's as troublesome and doing chores around the house." Shikamaru shrugged yet again.

"It's all been taken care of…there will be a private bus (**A/N:** I don't know what they use.) leaving to Tokyo in front of the gates next week, exactly seven days from today at exactly 8:00 A.M. Don't be late! If you are, the bus will automatically leave and you will have to take the smelly carriage where the luggage is." Tsunade said moving her right index finger left and right. "So don't be late!"

"Yeah, yeah…Is that all? Can I go now?" Shikamaru said, wanting to get a nap already.

"Yes. You may leave now," Tsunade said as Shikamaru stood up and was about to open the door. "Oh yeah, the hotel manager said I could bring a guest, so you'll be leaving with Naruto."

"What! Naruto? How am I supposed to relax with Naruto around? Tsunade-sama! Why must you always pick Naruto to go everywhere with everyone? You're not even listening, are you?" Shikamaru almost screamed, well not screamed. Shikamaru barely ever screams and he wouldn't scream for something like this, so I guess, talked slightly louder than usual.

"I said you may leave now." Tsunade said, looking down at paperwork that had to be finished. She didn't want to answer any of Shikamaru's questions. She just ignored him and watched him leave.

'Why do I always pick Naruto? Oh well. I guess I like making people work hard for the things they want.' (**A/N:** Does she seem out of character. I'm not sure how Tsunade acts sometimes.)

* * *

"Come in" (déjà vu or what?)

Temari opened the door.

"Good afternoon, Gaara. I've completed my mission. I even had time to make some lunch for you. Do you have another mission for me?" Temari asking her brother, putting a bento box on the left of the desk. She was psyched as ever if she could go on another mission. She loved missions, and killing people, so yeah. Plus, with her brother as Kazekage, she could usually get maybe nine missions a week if she wanted.

"No I don't. But I do have something for you to do. I just recently got an invitation to go to the famous Moonlight Tokyo Hotel (**A/N:** Yeah, couldn't think of a good name). But I've been very busy recently. I already accepted the invite, so you'll have to go. The hotel told me to bring a guest. I was going to bring you, but since I can't go, you and Kankuro will go and take a vacation. You know, relax." Gaara said having his eyes closed the whole time, with his monotonous, emotionless voice.

"What? Me with Kankuro? You mine as well have his will signed. We're never going to relax!" Temari screamed. Yeah, Temari can scream. She can scream whenever she wants because she's Temari! Don't mess with her.

"Sorry, everything's been arranged. You and Kankuro will leave seven days from now at 6:00 A.M. They've provided a short white limousine to pick you and Kankuro up. I've told Kankuro after he finished his mission. Since you'll be in Tokyo, there won't be any missions or anything for you two." Gaara said, this time with his eyes open but, still in his monotonous voice.

"Okay. I guess I could use a little relaxing. But after that, I'm coming right back to get in some more training. When I come back, you better have a lot of missions for me!" Temari grinned. "Hmm…exactly how long is this vacation?"

"One week."

"A whole week of relaxing. More than I need, but whatever. If that's all, I guess I'll see you at home, Gaara!" Temari said turning her back to Gaara and waved.

"Bye Temari." Gaara said, still monotonous.

* * *

"Over here, Tenten!" Lee said, waving his right hand up in the air, after seeing Tenten walking toward him.

"Hey Lee! Hi Neji!" Tenten greeted them with a big smile on her face. "So where's Gai-sensei?"

"He said if he didn't wake up at exactly 5:00 A.M., he would run 100 laps across Konoha on one hand. He woke up four seconds late. I think I see him now." Rock Lee said.

"He should just stop with all this so we can go back home already. No point in bringing us all here if we have to wait for him." Neji said crossing his arms across his chest like Shikamaru did with Tsunade.

"Hey Tenten! Lee, Neji, this is my last lap. Just talk for a little longer. I'm almost done." Gai-sensei said his head down looking at the ground. He was bouncing on his right hand. It was surprising that it wasn't bleeding with all the rocks on the ground and weight and pressure from his body.

"Hmm…why did Gai-sensei want us here anyways?" Tenten said, looking around seeing almost nobody out yet. They were in front of the Dango Shop, which opened at 9:00 A.M., and it was 8:50 A.M. I guess they were eating dango for breakfast.

"If he wanted to tell us something, he should tell us right now and then go on his final lap. Then we could talk about it while he's away and by the time he comes back, we'll have made a decision on how we feel about it." Neji said acting like the genius he is.

"That's very smart, Neji. We should tell Gai-sensei." Tenten said.

"It won't work though. I already tried before you got here. Even Lee tried and it didn't work. He won't say anything until he's done. It's a complete waste of time. I could be training right now." Neji said sitting on a bench, his arms till crossed.

_They waited for ten more minutes. Gai-sensei finally finished his 100th lap._

"Hello my youthful students! Glad you're all here. Since all of you have been so good, I've decided to give you a little break." Gai-sensei said, giving his signature "nice-guy" pose.

"But Gai-sensei, I want to train with you! We don't want a..." Lee was muffled by Tenten and Neji's hand over his mouth.

"Thank you so much Gai-sensei! You really didn't have to do this. But why give us a break now?" Tenten said, still covering Lee's mouth. Lee tried to get Neji and Tenten's hands off of his mouth, but couldn't, so he just stopped. Then Neji and Tenten decided it was okay to let go of his mouth.

"Well, I've wanted you guys to go on a vacation for quite sometime, ever since all of you became Chuunins, but the Hokage said there were too many people on vacation at the time, so I booked you guys for first space open. Who knew so many people were on vacation. Tsunade-sama even recommended a very popular hotel, the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel." Gai-sensei said.

"Oh, thank you, Gai-sensei! I've heard about that hotel. It's the best hotel in Japan! I can't believe you got us in! Ooh! I can't wait! When are we leaving?" Tenten cheered. She was so excited; she hugged Gai-sensei in a big bear hug.

"It was no problem, really. I always knew I would get a group as youthful as you guys, so I started saving money the day I saw the three of you. Knowing that you would make me proud with your wonderful youth." Gai-sensei cried. It was one of those happy cries that can be very funny to whoever's watching. Gai is so dramatic sometimes.

"Oh, Gai-sensei! Thank you! You are truly the greatest sensei!" Lee cried just like Gai-sensei.

"Gai-sensei, you still didn't answer when we are leaving. Also, how long are we leaving?" Neji said, almost as monotonous as Gaara.

"Humph…of course!" Gai-sensei stopped crying, and Lee followed suit, as he spoke again. "Seven days from now, there will be a black, stretch limousine at the Konoha gates. Be there at exactly 6:15 A.M. with your luggage. You'll be staying there for a whole week. Also, I got a deal for 3 connected rooms with 6 beds. So, you may each choose one other person to join you on your trip."

"I know who I am going to choose. I hope Sakura-chan is not busy next week!" Lee said excitedly.

"I guess I'll invite Hinata to join me. She's been working very hard, improving her taijutsu well." Neji said calmly.

"Awww…I don't know who I'm going to invite. Do you guys have any idea?" Tenten said, slightly disappointed that she didn't have many friends, since she was usually too busy on missions.

"I have an idea. Invite Kiba, please. Hinata will like it that someone she knows well is on the trip if I'm not there." Neji said, still as calm as ever.

"Good idea, Neji! Thanks!" Tenten cheered.

"So, Sakura, Hinata, and Kiba. Okay, I'll tell Tsunade-sama and you guys invite your guests. Make sure to give them all the information I've told you. Now, let's eat some dango!" Gai-sensei cheered walking the three students into the restaurant.

* * *

_At the Korean BBQ restaurant Chouji always goes to with Shikamaru, Ino, and Asuma-sensei. Shikamaru isn't there because he was on a mission._

"Stop eating so much! You don't want to gain so much weight. Eating to fast will just make you eat more!" Ino yelled at Chouji, who was right across from him.

"You won't be able to stop him Ino. You should know that by now. He's in his zone. He probably doesn't even know we're talking. You know, unless we said he was fat." Asuma said. Then quickly covered his mouth at what he just said. He was in for it now.

"What did you say Asuma-sensei?" Chouji was red with anger.

"Nothing Chouji. Hey is that the last piece of meat?" Asuma said hoping that Chouji would be distracted and start eating again. He was right. Chouji went right back eating, putting more meat on the grill.

Once all the meat was gone, and Chouji was full, or as full as he'll get, Asuma started to talk.

"There is another reason I brought you here, other than to eat lunch," Ino and Chouji looked at each other for a moment, confused. "You see, you probably don't know this, but Gai-sensei and I are very good friends." Now Ino and Chouji were more confused then ever.

"You and Gai-sensei are good friends?" Ino and Chouji both said in unison.

"We're like best friends! I know, kind of hard to believe, but it's true. So a couple years ago, Gai-sensei told me he couldn't go out to eat as much anymore because he was saving up money to get his students a vacation they deserved. You know, Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten. So I decided I would do the same thing. We both saved enough, but there weren't any vacation spots open for shinobi until now. Gai-sensei and I both took the spot. Pretty good, huh?" Asuma-sensei said waiting for Ino and Chouji to answer.

"Wow. I still can't believe you and Gai-sensei are friends." Ino said with a surprised look on her face. "So, this vacation is where? Details please."

"You're going to the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel in, well Tokyo. And…" but Asuma was cut off by Ino.

"Oh my gosh! Seriously! That's the best hotel in Japan! I've wanted to go there since forever! Thanks Asuma-sensei." Ino screamed and cheered.

"It's just a hotel. What's so special?" Chouji said a little disappointed that it wasn't something better like an all-you-can-eat buffet membership card.

"Chouji, you think I don't know you? There's an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ buffet at the hotel, for guests only." Asuma smiled at Chouji.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you, Asuma-sensei!" Chouji screamed and cheered kind of like Ino did before.

"Just be ready at 8:15 A.M. with your stuff. A small black car will pick you up. Don't be late, or they'll leave without you. It's a seven day hotel stay. Enjoy!" Asuma-sensei said.

* * *

**A/N: **So, how was it? I'm pretty proud for making this. I got this idea from my friend's weird dream, where she was going on a field trip at a hotel. You'll have to see what happened in my friend's dream next chapter. It should be coming soon! 


	2. On The Ride

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto! If I did, why would I create Shikamaru, a guy I could never have for myself?**

**A/N:** Sorry about Tsunade's name in the first chapter. My friend read it and saw her name misspelled a couple times. I'm too lazy to fix it though, so oh well! Hope you like this chapter! There are some Japanese words in this chapter too. It's pretty simple Japanese though. Also, sorry for being one day late.

**Published September 10, 2006**

**Chapter 2 - On the Ride**

_It's been a week already? Well, yes, I guess it has! It's also been a week since everyone got the news that they were going to go on vacation! Woohoo! So they're all packed up and just about ready to go!_

**_6:00 A.M. Sunagakure a.k.a. Suna_**

"Kankuro! Get your lazy-ass over here already! I can see the limo coming already!" Temari yelled out to her brother.

Kankuro started to whine. "Tem, can't you shut up for one second. You talk too much. I'm getting a headache."

"What did you say! I don't talk too much!" Temari got angry. She took out her fan from her back, and whacked Kankuro on the head, leaving a big bump on the top of his head.

Kankuro finally caught up to Temari. The limo just happened to appear in front of the siblings too. "Damn, you get angered too easily. I wouldn't have been back there if I wasn't carrying all your bags. Why am I carrying your bags anyways?" Kankuro asked with slight anger.

"It's easy. I'm your big sister and you do as I say, or else! Got it? Unless you want a twin bump on your head, shut up!"

"Gomen, Gomen (sorry, sorry)" Kankuro apologized.

Then the limo driver opened his door. The limo driver was wearing a tuxedo with a chauffer hat and big, black sunglasses. He had brown hair like Iruka and was about a foot taller than Kankuro. "Good morning. I will be your driver. I hope you will enjoy your stay at the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel. Let me take your bags." He took the bags and put them in the trunk of the limo. Who knew limos had trunks?

Then the driver opened the passenger seat door. Temari pushed Kankuro, who was about to go in, out of the way. "Ladies first, idiot; we're superior!" Temari yelled. Yup, she was a little irritated. You'd hate to see her when she gets mad.

"Whatever. As soon as we leave, I'll be that much closer to getting away from you." Kankuro mumbled.

"I heard that!" Temari said, whacking Kankuro in the head again except with her fist this time, which hurts just as much.

* * *

**_6:10 A.M. Konohagakure a.k.a. Konoha_**

_Tenten, Neji, Lee, and Hinata are waiting for the black limousine as well as Sakura and Kiba._

"Oh, I can't wait till we get there! What about you guys? I bet it's going to be so much fun! A nice relaxing time by ourselves, to just relax, is just what we need." Tenten said.

"Oh, yes, Tenten! It will be a much needed vacation. I cannot wait until Sakura comes! I will protect her no matter what! Maybe I may be able to win her heart!" Lee said holding up his fist into one of his signature positions.

"Come on Lee, what are you going to protect her from? The sauna being too hot? Getting a sunburn? Lee, don't ruin this trip away from Konoha for everyone else, please." Tenten said a little worried at what idiotic things Rock Lee would be doing on the trip.

"Lee, I think Tenten may be correct on this. It is a vacation for relaxation. If we are to be relaxed, we shouldn't be trying to accomplish anything as impossible as having Sakura's love." Interestingly, Neji said. Neji wasn't one to really agree to anything Tenten said. He wasn't even the one to talk about relaxing. He never relaxed.

"I'm s-sorry to i-interrupt, but I t-think I see S-Sakura and K-Kiba coming." Hinata stuttered quietly, as usual.

"Sakura! Sakura, I will show you that I, Rock Lee, can win your heart and love!" Rock Lee said with confidence forming his "nice-guy" pose.

"Ohayo Neji, Lee, Tenten, Hinata!" Sakura waved her arm up high as she walked to the group. "Come on, Kiba! Let's hurry up! I don't want to be late for the _limo_! I still can't believe we're being driven in a limo! Have you ever ridden in a limo before? I haven't!"

"Jeez, you can be so irritating, Sakura." Kiba complained. "Let's just take our time; I don't see the limo yet anyways." Kiba spoke too soon. Just that second, the limousine arrived. It was sleek and black; seemed brand new.

"Sakura! Kiba! Hurry up!" Tenten yelled. Sakura and Kiba came running with their bags and arrived in front of the four others, just before the driver came out of the limo.

A tall man in a tuxedo and chauffer hat came out with big sunglasses. His voice was very cheerful. It sounds like Kakashi's voice. "Ohayo, minna (everyone)! I will be your chauffer today. Let me take your bags." In an instant, the chauffer took Hinata and Neji's two bags, and lifted them with ease, putting them in the trunk. It was amazing he was able to carry the load so easily. Next he took Tenten and Rock Lee's suitcases, which were pretty heavy and put them in the trunk just as easily. Finally, he took Sakura and Kiba's suitcases which were humongous! They were probably fifty pounds each! It's like they were packing a month's worth of stuff! It was incredible that all the luggage fit in the small trunk.

"It will take about two hours to arrive at the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel." The chauffer opened the car door and gestured his arm which meant to get in. Sakura went in first, followed by Tenten. Kiba was about to go in next until Rock Lee stopped him.

"It is polite to let the ladies get in first. Hinata." Rock Lee said being his polite-self.

"Mm. Arigato, Lee." Hinata got into the limo followed by Kiba, Rock Lee, and then Neji. Neji was polite like Rock Lee and went in last. The chauffer closed the door and went to the other side to the door to the driver's seat.

The seats were more like a couch that made an L-shape. On the long part of the L, facing the door sat Neji, Tenten, Hinata, and Sakura. On the short part of the L sat Lee and Kiba which meant Lee was right next to the door. (**A/N:** That was the least confusing way I could explain it.)

A dark window was rolled down, in the limo, separating the back seat/couch from the driver's front seat. "There's a stereo right above you. You can press all the buttons. And, oh yeah, you can eat and drink whatever you want in here. It's "on-the-house" thanks to the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel!" the chauffer said and smiled as he watched Sakura and Kiba's face grin wide. The window rolled back up and the engine started.

"Oh my gosh! This is so cool! Turn on the radio, Tenten!" Sakura said cheering and starting to eat some free peanuts. Tenten turned on the radio and surprisingly changed the station to hardcore, underground rap. You could hear a pause every few moments, in the music, due to swear words. Everyone but Neji looked at her with confusion.

"So she likes rap. I do too." Neji said with his arms crossed and eyes closed. "It's really pretty obvious."

"It is?" Sakura asked with even more confusion.

"You guys are just too young to understand I guess." Neji sighed.

"We're only one year younger than you two! Plus, Lee is the same age as you! He doesn't like that kind of music!" Sakura defended.

"That's true. He likes hip-hop rap. Not as many swear words or fast rapping. I like that too." Neji defended back.

"Seriously? Lee, you told me you liked pop." Sakura said, arms crossed and eating some peanuts, slightly bummed; she just lost a verbal argument, but it was against Neji, so she wasn't as disappointed in herself.

"Sorry, Sakura. I hate pop. I just didn't want to disappoint you. Pop is very annoying and a lot of people who sing pop are not very real. Hip-hop and rap is real! It's about their life and hardships, so many things they went through. I have written some raps too! Would you like to hear, Sakura?"

"NO!" Neji and Tenten yelled in unison. They heard Rock Lee's raps. They were all about Sakura, being youthful, and hot-bloodedness.

While everyone was talking, Kiba just kept stuffing his face with soda and chips.

* * *

_**8:00 A.M. Konohagakure**_

"How troublesome. Naruto are you done yet?" Shikamaru asked. They were waiting for the bus to come. It was 8 o'clock already! Naruto was eating his third bowl of ramen-to-go from Ichiraku Ramen of course. He still had three more just in case he was still hungry.

"Don't rush me. I can't take in the full flavor of the ramen." Naruto complained.

"You sound like Chouji. Just finish your ramen." Shikamaru said. "I see the bus coming. Hurry up! They might not allow food on the bus."

"Okay, okay." Naruto finished up his food in two seconds.

"How come you didn't do that before?" Shikamaru asked.

"I like to take my time savoring the flavor. Also, it's funny how it annoys you so much." Naruto grinned.

"How troublesome."

The bus came and it was about 8 or 9 feet high. It was blue and grey with dark windows. The bus could probably fit 60 to 70 people. The door opened. Naruto took the rest of his ramen and luggage and went into the bus. Shikamaru took his stuff and followed.

The driver was in a tuxedo with a chauffer hat and black sunglasses.

'_Interesting uniform for a bus driver_.' Shikamaru thought.

"Can we bring in ramen?" Naruto asked the driver.

The driver just nodded, not even turning his head.

"Please put your luggage under your seat or above you in the compartments." The driver said into a speaker.

The bus was pretty much like your average bus. There were 2 rows of about 10 or 11 pairs of seats. There were individual seats, 2 in each row, on each side. That meant that there were 2 individual seats on the left side and 2 individual seats on the right side.

Shikamaru put his stuff under went all the way to the back of the bus where instead of individual seats, there was a long couch-like seat that could fit six people. I guess it was worth the trouble of going in the back. He lied down and started to doze off.

Naruto on the other hand had tons of energy and decided to sit down in the front seat right behind the driver. Then the driver drove off. Naruto decided he didn't really like the seat, so he stood up and went to a seat in the 6th row on the left closest to the window. After 30 seconds, he stood up again and went to the 9th row on the right, away from the window. It just went on and on like that. Shikamaru started to snore.

* * *

_**8:15 A.M. Konohagakure**_

"You're lucky I came to your house early! We would've been late!" Ino nagged Chouji.

"Demo, Ino. I was so excited that I thought I could skip breakfast and eat a lot at the hotel, but my stomach was growling. I had to eat something!" Chouji sighed.

"Still, come on Chouji. You know that you could never skip a meal. It's too out of character for you." Ino retorted.

"Yes, Ino; I know." Chouji sighed again.

A small black car pulled up in front of the two ninjas. A man came out of the vehicle. He looked about 40 to 45 years-old. He was wearing a tuxedo and big, black shades (like the previous three chauffeurs). He was very tall and looked like a basketball player with blonde hair like Naruto's.

"Let me take those bags for you…miss…sir." The driver said. He took the three suitcases, purple, dark blue, and periwinkle, from Ino and one red duffel bag from Chouji. Ino brought three suitcases for one week? I wonder how much stuff she has in her room.

"I'm never called sir, does he really think we're that old." Chouji whispered to Ino.

"I guess he doesn't know what else to call us. It's polite, I guess." Ino whispered back.

"Please, be seated." The driver opened the black passenger seat door. The car kind of looked like a very small limo. Though the seats were as any other car, three could fit in the back, there was a skylight, multi-colored light-up stars with a push of a button all around the car, and a TV and radio on the ceiling. It looked very expensive. There was also some food in the front seat of the car, next to the driver's seat.

Ino could see chips and some bottled spring water as she went in the car.

Once the two ninjas went in the car, the driver went into the driver's seat and started the engine.

"Hmm…this is a pretty nice car. It even has a TV! Cool. We could watch a movie!" Ino said excitedly.

"Chips! Sir, can we have some chips?" Chouji said quickly.

"Of course! It's all free. Just thank the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel!" the driver said, putting a box of snacks, on the empty seat, in the middle of Ino and Chouji.

Chouji took a big handful of snacks and started opening some chips. Ino turned on the radio to her favorite music artist, Aqua. (**A/N: **No offence to those who like Aqua. It is kind of obvious that she would like Aqua.). Chouji just sighed and continued eating. It was kind of annoying that Ino's favorite group sang songs like "Barbie Girl" and "Tarzan and Jane".

"This is going to be a long ride, huh?" Chouji asked rhetorically.

"Two hours till we get there!" the driver said, not realizing that Chouji wasn't really looking for an answer.

Chouji just sighed. "A really, really long ride."

* * *

**A/N:** Next chapter is when they finally get to the hotel! Woohoo! Wonder what's going to happen next? Nobody knows, except me, of course. Next chapter is when things finally heat up between the couples. I've decided to make the titles music titles because I just like to. The first chapter wasn't meant to be a music title, even though it is a music title, so yeah. This title was from Aly & AJ - On the Ride. 


	3. Day 1 Who Knew?

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto. If I did, do you think I'd be wasting my time doing this?**

**A/N: **I hope you guys like this chapter. They finally get to the hotel! Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys their age.

Chouji, Hinata, Ino, Kiba, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru - 19

Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten - 20

Kankuro - 21

Temari - 22

**Published September 17, 2006**

**Chapter 3 - Who Knew?**

_First to arrive is, of course if you were paying attention, Temari and Kankuro. They arrived in front of the hotel at exactly 7:42 A.M. Are you wondering why they arrived 18 minutes early? Their driver was scared to death once he found out who Temari and Kankuro were, and even worse, who they were related to. Yeah…I'd be scared too. I guess he didn't want to piss them off by making them have less time to relax._

"Ahhh…that was a good nap! Those seats were comfy." Kankuro said, stepping out of the vehicle before the driver. Then Temari came out of the limousine.

Then the driver came out of the limo and opened the trunk where the luggage was. Temari had two small bags; one was lavender and the other was violet. Kankuro had one big black bag with purple designs on it. It looked like he designed it himself.

Temari and Kankuro took the bags, thanked the driver, and went to the hotel front desk to check in.

The hotel really was the best in Japan. Everything glowed with gold and it seemed like the tallest building in Japan; maybe it was. There were chandeliers lights hanging everywhere with burgundy carpets with gold polka dots. There were carnations in pink and red on the desks in clear vases. There was free bottled water and fresh fruit too! This hotel was pretty top-line expensive. (**A/N:** I'm not good at describing stuff so just think of the fanciest hotel your imagination has.)

"Welcome to the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel, how may I help you?" a kind woman at the front desk said. Temari handed her a piece of paper Gaara gave her before leaving. The woman nodded, took the paper, read it, and then gave them two hotel keys (the ones that look like a credit card). "You'll be in rooms 1001 and 1003. The red card's 1003 and the blue card's 1001. Here's a map of the hotel for each of you and there's an elevator you can use on your left or right. Here's where your rooms are." She circled the number 1001 and 1003 on the map in pen.

'We need a map? This place is that big?' Temari thought. "There are two rooms?" Temari said, thinking that they wouldn't need two rooms for two people.

"Yes, that's what this paper says; two rooms, deluxe suite, connected, top floor." The lady said, pointing to the paper.

"Umm…okay then. Thanks!" Temari said, taking the red and blue card keys and signaling Kankuro to follow her. 'I wonder why Gaara didn't say there were two rooms. Oh, well. I'll be much more relaxed without Kankuro anyways.'

Once they got to the hotel, they first went into room 1003 and observed it. It was so beautiful. It was very 21st century. Right when you walk in, you could see wooden floors, clear glass tables with fresh flowers (which you don't usually find anymore), and a flat-wide-screen, LCD, plasma television on the left wall. Parallel from the door was a window-screen thing (I'm not good with words) where you can open it and go out to the balcony. Parallel from the TV was a black leather couch that could seat about five people. There was a small kitchen with a fridge, microwave, and sink. There was a bathroom with a toilet, shower/bath tub, and sink with free soap, shampoo, and all that stuff. There was also another room entirely, next to the TV. In the next room was another TV, the same as the one in the "living room/kitchen/bathroom" on the same wall as the other TV. Parallel to the TV was a king-sized bed with the comfiest ocean-blue sheets ever! They weren't hotel sheets you usually see, they were like the ones you would have at home. There was another bathroom too! This one was the same except the tub was also a Jacuzzi! (**A/N: **Again, just think of the fanciest hotel room you can imagine. I was thinking more of a celebrity's penthouse though.)

"Wow! This is pretty nice. I'm glad Gaara couldn't come." Kankuro chuckled.

"Yeah, it is pretty great. Let's go see how different the other room is." They went into the connected door between the rooms and saw room 1001. It looked exactly the same, except in the opposite direction. Also, the bed sheets weren't ocean-blue, they were sky-blue.

"Hmm…okay, which room do you want?" Temari asked Kankuro.

"I guess I'll take 1001 since I'm already in here." Kankuro said, not really caring, since they were the same.

"Too bad, I'll take 1001 and you'll take 1003!" Temari grinned. Then she took Kankuro's bag and threw it through the connecting door and into room 1003.

"I should've known you'd take the room I want. Oh well. I don't care. I'm hungry. I'm going to get some breakfast." Kankuro said, looking at the map of the hotel. Temari copied him.

"Cafeteria's on the 3rd floor. Let's go." Temari said, pulling Kankuro by his black hood, showing Kankuro's messy brown hair.

* * *

_Did you remember who's supposed to be arriving next? Well, if you did, I thank you for your remembrance. For everyone else, tisk tisk; it's Hinata, Kiba, Neji, Rock Lee, Sakura, and Tenten! They arrived at 8:20 A.M._

"Ahh…that was a good nap!" (More déjà vu?) Kiba said, wiping some drool from his mouth with his arm.

The driver came out of the limo, opened the passenger door, and let everyone out. Then he opened the trunk and took out everyone's luggage and went to get those rolling luggage carrier things in hotels. The group of

"Yay!" Sakura and Tenten said in unison. "We're finally here! I can't wait to go inside!" Sakura cheered.

Right when Sakura cheered, the chauffer came back with three luggage carrier things and randomly put the luggage on the gold carriers.

"Thank you for coming to the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel! Would you like me to help you with your luggage?" The chauffer asked politely.

"No thanks! We can take it from here! Thanks for helping us!" Sakura said.

"Are you sure, Sakura? It looks very heavy for us to push." Rock Lee said.

"No, it's fine. It looks pretty light anyways." Sakura pushed one of the carts with ease. It was as light as a feather for her. Everyone looked at Sakura with awe and surprised amazement. There was still one more cart to push. It took Kiba and Rock Lee to push the cart; it wasn't even the heavier cart of the two.

Back to the story, they went inside to the front desk to check-in. Tenten did the talking.

"Hello! Welcome to the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel! How may I help you today?" The same girl, who talked to Temari and Kankuro, said kindly.

"We're checking in. There are six people and it was reserved online from "GaisYouthfulness" for three rooms. Here are the papers." Tenten handed the lady three papers with all their info and whatnot.

"Okay, here are six keys. You'll be in rooms 1000, 1002, and 1004. The red card's 1002, the green card's 1004, and the blue card's 1000. Here's a map of the hotel for each of you and there's an elevator you can use on your left or right to the top floor. Your rooms are here." She circled three numbers, 1000, 1002, and 1004, on the map in pen. "Here are six maps of the hotel. If you need any assistance or anything, call the front desk from your room telephone. Enjoy your stay!"

"Thanks, uh, Emi-san!" Tenten said, looking at her name tag.

"It's my pleasure! Have a nice stay!" Emi said.

Sakura, Kiba, and Rock Lee pushed the carts to the elevator. They had to take two elevators. It took almost three minutes to get up to the top floor. When they got there, they decided to look at all the rooms together. The rooms were the same as Temari and Kankuro's rooms, the top floor connected deluxe suite, except there were two beds instead of one.

"I'll take this one!" Kiba said, plopping his stuff and himself on the couch of room 1004.

"Who wants to stay with Kiba?" Sakura asked everybody. There was complete silence. "Why don't you stay with Kiba, Hinata? You know him best. You were his genin teammate!"

"Umm…o-okay Sakura." Hinata stuttered, placing her bag lightly on the wooden floor and sat down next to Kiba, who was watching TV.

The rest of the group went to room 1002 to decide who was staying there.

"I want to sleep in room 1000. It's a nice and even, round number." Tenten said.

"Uh…okaay. (that wasn't a typo) Sakura was sometimes weirded out by Tenten's personality.

"I'll stay with Tenten" Neji said, arms crossed and eyes closed, as usual. "So I guess Rock Lee and you are staying in here. Let's go Tenten."

"Coming, Neji!" Tenten said, following Neji into room 1000. Then they started to unpack.

'Oh great!' Sakura thought sarcastically. 'I'm stuck here with Lee. He's going to be talking about youth all day and night. I heard enough in the limo. What am I going to do now?' Like a signal, Sakura's stomach suddenly grumbled. 'I'm hungry.' "I'm hungry, Lee. Want to go get some breakfast?"

"That would be wonderful, Sakura!" Rock Lee cheered.

"Okay, umm…the cafeteria's on the 3rd floor. It stops serving breakfast at 10:30." Sakura said, looking at her map. "What time is it?" Sakura looked at a digital clock in the room next to the telephone. "It's 8:36. We have plenty of time." "Neji, Tenten, Kiba, Hinata! Wanna come eat breakfast with me and Lee in the cafeteria?" Sakura yelled just loud enough for the other guests to hear from their connected doors.

Hinata's head peeped out of the connected door. "N-No t-thank you, Sakura. Kiba and I w-will stay up h-here."

"Okay, then. Neji, Tenten. What about you guys?"

Tenten and Neji came out of the other connected door. "We'll go, Sakura!" Tenten said.

"Great! I'm starving! Those chips in the limo weren't that filling!" Sakura said.

_So Temari and Kankuro and Sakura, Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten are going to eat breakfast, not knowing that they will soon be seeing each other._

* * *

_Next to arrive at the hotel is not Shikamaru and Naruto! Ino and Chouji got to the hotel before them. Seems like their driver wasn't as fast as Ino and Chouji's. Ino and Chouji arrived at 10:15 A.M., exactly a two-hour ride._

The chauffer came out of the car and opened the passenger door.

"Ahh…that was a good nap!" (What's up with the déjà vu and guys sleeping in the vehicle saying the exact same thing?) Chouji said, stepping out of the car.

"Let's just get into the hotel already!" Ino whined.

The driver ran in and out as quickly as possible with a gold cart luggage thing and put their luggage on it. "Enjoy your stay at the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel!"

"Thanks!" Ino and Chouji said in unison. They pushed the cart together and checked in at the front desk. (**A/N:** Do you really want to hear the same thing again? Here's basically what happened.)

Emi, the check-in lady, was still there. Ino said they were checking in and gave her some information papers. They got two green keys for room 1006 and a map. They took the elevator up to the 100th floor, saw their room and thought it was amazing, then unpacked.

Chouji surprisingly wasn't hungry or anything. I guess he ate so much food in the car that it was enough to be his breakfast. Ino had a small appetite, so she wasn't hungry either. Chouji was in the living room on the couch and Ino was in the bedroom on one of the beds. Both of them were watching a different show on TV.

* * *

**_Now it's time for the best part! Shikamaru and Naruto! I'm even writing in bold, just so you'll read it! That's how great it is!_**

_Shikamaru and Naruto arrived at 10:32 A.M. which was 32 minutes than their arrival should've been! It wasn't their fault though. There was traffic and they were on a bus, so they drove on the bus lane, which is if you didn't know, very slow. The driver almost got them lost too. Thank goodness Shikamaru could read the map._

"How troublesome." Shikamaru said, taking his stuff from the bus compartment. Then he stepped out of the bus with Naruto following him.

"Uhh…thanks for the help, Shikamaru-san!" The driver said, one hand scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru said as the bus doors closed and the bus drove away. 'He must be a new driver.' Shikamaru thought.

Shikamaru and Naruto stepped into the hotel and Naruto was in awe. It was the coolest hotel Naruto ever stayed at.

'No wonder it's called the best in Japan.' "Come on Shikamaru! Let's check-in already and look at our room! Dattebayo!" Naruto said, running to the front desk.

"The room's still going to be there if we walk. No point in wasting energy to run." Shikamaru mumbled.

When Shikamaru finally got to the front desk, which seemed like forever to Naruto, he took out some papers.

"Welcome to the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel! How may I be of assistance for you today?" The same girl, Emi, said just as kindly as the other three times.

"Yeah, we're staying here for seven days. Here's the info." Shikamaru handed Emi the papers.

"Ummm…I'm sorry to tell you sir, but we're completely booked. I'm sorry for the inconvenience sir." Emi said trying to be sympathetic.

"What? How do you overbook? This vacation was a thank you for Tsunade-sama, Hokage of Konoha, and you overbook? How is that possible?" Shikamaru said, almost yelling, though that would be too troublesome for him.

"I'm sorry sir, but we're totally booked. I'm very sorry. There's nothing I can do." Emi said.

'What did I ever do to deserve this? I always get the bad luck.' Shikamaru thought.

"Well if it isn't the crybaby and Hokage wannabe." A voice said.

'Oh no. It's her.' Shikamaru thought. 'It could only be…Temari. Why, God, why?'

"What are you guys doing here? I don't think you two could afford to stay at this kind of hotel." Temari said, putting her right hand on her hip.

"The owner thanked Tsunade-sama for a mission by giving her a vacation for a week here at the hotel. She couldn't go, so she asked me and Shikamaru to go." Naruto said. He was happy to see his "not yet friends, but more than acquaintances".

"There seems to be a problem though." Shikamaru said. "They overbooked and now we don't have a room. I guess we'll have to go back to Konoha. It's so troublesome."

"Awww, that's too bad crybaby. It would've been nice to have someone to talk to." Temari said, then thinking about the situation. "Hey, I got an idea! Why don't you two stay in our rooms, with Kankuro and me?"

"Yeah! That'd be cool! Then we wouldn't have to go back to Konoha! Isn't that great Shikamaru?"

"Hn. I guess. It would be less troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

"Excuse me for interrupting your conversation, but if you would like to say with them, here are your keys." Emi handed Shikamaru two keys, one red and one blue.

"The red one is for room 1003 and the blue one is for room 1001." Emi said. "Here's a map of the hotel for each of you. Enjoy your stay! Sorry again for the inconvenience."

"It's okay! Thanks!" Naruto said.

The four took the elevator up to room 1001 and Naruto and Shikamaru saw the room for the first time. Then they saw the connected room, 1003. It was amazing and Naruto was in awe once again.

"Naruto can stay in here and Shikamaru can stay in 1001." Temari said, well, more like commanded.

"Cool. We get to be roommates!" Kankuro said, friendly punching Naruto. "But you have to sleep on the sofa-bed."

"Sure. That's fine." Naruto said, rubbing his arm. Kankuro can hit hard.

"That means I'm staying with you?" Shikamaru asked rhetorically and sighed.

"Yup! You're sleeping on the couch too! Got it!" Temari commanded once again.

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru mumbled.

"Oh yeah, I Sakura, Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten in the cafeteria at breakfast. Just to let you know." Temari said.

"Sakura, Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten are here?" Shikamaru and Naruto questioned in unison.

"Yeah, and they said Hinata and Kiba are here too. They came on vacation together." Kankuro said.

"Seriously?" Shikamaru and Naruto said in unison once again. Who knew two people which such difference in IQ's could say the same thing at the same time twice.

"You guys gotta stop doing that. Yeah. They're actually right across the hallway in rooms 1000, 1002, and 1004. We could go see them if you want." Temari said.

* * *

**A/N:** I made this chapter a little short than I was going to. I continued on, but decided it should be a whole other chapter. I've already got one page of it. I'll maybe try to even finish it today. This was 8 pages though! I'm so glad I'm writing so much. I'm getting my lazybutt brain working!

**Song: **Who Knew by Pink. I just liked the song a lot. Also, it sorta kinda in a way fits in with the story. Who knew everyone would meet? They still don't even know that Chouji and Ino are there. The lyrics "Until we until we meet again and I won't forget you my friend" kind of works.


	4. Day 1 Coincidence in Life

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto. Wouldn't it be nice if I did though?**

**A/N:** I know it's so quick! Another chapter in a day! I had a lot of time on my hands and ideas in my head. This is ten pages long! Woohoo!

Thanks to the many reviews! I'm so happy! If I get more reviews, I'll be able to write much faster! So tell all your friends, acquaintances, and random people who'll like this story!

**Published September 17, 2006**

**Chapter 4 - Coincidence in Life**

"Come on, genius. Get up! I want to see Sakura." Temari complained to Shikamaru.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru said. He got up and left the room with Temari, Kankuro, and Naruto.

_(In my story) Temari, Tenten, and Sakura are actually really close friends and have been friends since after the Chuunin Exams. Sadly, since Temari lived in the Sand Country, they couldn't talk much. They could only see Temari when she came to Konoha as a liaison. That's the only reason she became a liaison in the first place._

"Hmm?" 'Who could be at the door?' Sakura thought. She put down a magazine she was reading and answered the door.

"Hey, Temari!" Sakura said, giving Temari a hug.

"Hey, Sakura! Guess who else is staying here?" Temari said, moving to show Shikamaru and Naruto.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sakura said.

"Long story, too long and too troublesome to tell you." Shikamaru said, his hands in his pockets.

"Same old Shikamaru!"

_After becoming Chuunin and Jounin, some of the ninjas had kind of separated and hadn't had much time to talk due to longer and harder missions. Sakura was super busy working with Tsunade on medic techniques, so she couldn't hang out much with her friends. The same goes for everyone else. Being a ninja was hard work._

"Come on in you guys!" Sakura said, gesturing the four to come in. "Neji, Tenten, Kiba, Hinata! Come in here! Guess who's here too!" Sakura shouted.

"H-Hello Naruto-kun, Shikamaru." Hinata stuttered.

"Yahoo! It's Shikamaru and Naruto!" Kiba cheered.

"What a coincidence that we are all here at the same hotel on the same day!" Rock Lee said, coming out of the bathroom.

"Hey." Neji said.

"Hey you guys! So great to see you again! It seems like forever since we last saw each other!" Tenten said.

"Yeah, it has been a while, huh?" Shikamaru said.

"So, which rooms are you guys staying in?" Sakura asked.

"I'm staying in 1001 and Naruto's staying in 1003." Shikamaru said, sitting on the couch in room 1002 (Sakura and Rock Lee's room).

"I thought those were Temari and Kankuro's rooms." Rock Lee said, confused.

"They are. There was this big mix-up and the hotel was overbooked so Temari and Kankuro let us stay in their rooms. We were lucky. Dattebayo!" Naruto said.

_Sakura, Tenten, Hinata, and Temari went to the bedroom and sat down on the beds, talking about what they've been doing and all that stuff, catching up with what was going on. The guys were in the living room talking about random nonsense. The door from the bedroom to the living room was closed so they couldn't hear each other._

"So…you're staying with Temari. I can see why you chose to room with her." Kiba winked and chuckled, implying something.

"It wasn't like that. She chose who was staying with who. I had to do what she said or she'd probably kill me.

"Ahhh…I see. Looks like she's got the hots for you, man!" Kiba laughed. "I don't know what's she's thinking though. She must be crazy if she wants to go out with you."

"Do you realize you're talking about my sister and I could beat you to a pulp right now without a sweat?" Kankuro said, calm as ever.

"Uhhh…sorry Kankuro. Don't worry, won't happen again." Kiba said, sweating bullets.

"So what have you guys been doing in Konoha?" Kankuro asked no one in particular.

"I have been training as hard as possible to be just like Gai-sensei!" Rock Lee said, going into his "nice-guy" pose.

"That's a surprise." Kankuro said sarcastically.

"I've been training with Akamaru a lot lately. Too bad he couldn't come on vacation with me." Kiba said. He was almost sad, but it's Kiba, so he got over it easily.

"Hmm…last time I saw him, he was huge. Has he gotten any bigger?" Kankuro asked.

"I don't know. I didn't notice him grow at all since I got him. I guess he has grown a little bit." Kiba said.

"I've been training more with Jiraiya and ate a lot of different ramen. I've been on a lot of missions too. Not much of a difference as before.

"You got that right." Kankuro said. "What about you Neji? You barely talk! What's up with you?" I guess Kankuro was very curious today and took a step on the wild side to ask Neji about what he's been doing recently.

"I don't feel like talking." Neji said. His back was against the wall, arms crossed, as usual. Typical Neji pose.

"Hn. Does Neji ever talk?" Kankuro asked. He was very curious.

"He talked a bit in the limo we were driven in. He rarely talks too much though. He is almost like Shikamaru. They talk only when they need to, though Shikamaru does not talk because he is lazy." Rock Lee said "as-a-matter-of-factly".

"Hn. Whatever. I'm bored. What's there to do here?" Kiba said.

"I do not know. Let us look at the map of the hotel." Lee said.

"There's a big arcade on the 74th floor, next to the fitness room." Kankuro said.

"Okay! Let's go! Dattebayo!" Naruto said.

"I'll just stay here and take a nap." Shikamaru yawned.

Everyone sighed in harmony. It was a typical thing for Shikamaru to do.

"Bye, Shikamaru!" Everyone said.

* * *

"We really need to take this time and spend it wisely. I don't want to waste my vacation. We have to have a sleepover! We haven't had one of those in forever!" Sakura proposed. 

"Yeah! I remember; it was two years ago. We went camping and had so much fun. Too bad Ino's not here. It's just not the same. She would have the best ideas. I remember when we went to the boy's cabin and totally destroyed it! That was the best!" Temari said, reminiscing the old days.

"We should do it tonight!" Tenten suggested.

"Yeah! That will be fun." Hinata said. She didn't stutter when she talked with her closest friends.

"Tonight it s then! Let's do it in my room!" Sakura said.

"Okay!" Hinata, Temari, and Tenten said.

_10 minutes past._

"I'm getting bored. What about you guys?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah, I'm bored too. We should look around the hotel." Sakura said.

"There's a swimming pool on the 75th floor." Hinata said, looking at her map.

"They have a swimming pool, spa, and sauna! What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Sakura said.

"I'll just stay here. I'm kind of tired. I didn't get too much sleep yesterday." Temari yawned. "You guys go ahead without me."

"Awww…okay, but you're missing out, Temari!" Sakura said. "Come on, let's get our swimming suits!" They got their swimming suits and came back to where Temari was. "We'll be back by four o'clock, okay?"

"Okay. See you guys later."

"Bye!"

* * *

Shikamaru and Temari were alone in room 1002. Both of them didn't know it was just them. They were both pretty sleepy. Shikamaru was sleeping on the sofa-bed. I guess it wasn't too troublesome for him to take the bed out. Temari was sleeping on the left bed, in the bedroom, away from the window. 

Then something happened that changed everything. Did you know that Temari sleepwalks? Well she does. She doesn't do it in her own house, but anywhere else, she'll start to sleepwalk to some random place. At the first Chuunin Exams, Gaara had to watch Temari, so she wouldn't sleepwalk in the hotel; it wasn't a hard task though since Gaara didn't sleep.

Temari and Shikamaru were left alone at around 12:30 P.M. Temari started to sleepwalk at 1:15 P.M. First she walked to the other bed in the room. Then she hit the window screen. Surprisingly, she didn't wake up or feel a bruise on her forehead. Then she turned to the opposite direction. She turned again and was at the door, connecting the bedroom, to the living room. Somehow her subconscious mind opened the door and fell on the first thing she bumped, which was the sofa-bed. She didn't even feel a bump on her knee from the metal of the sofa-bed.

Did you know Shikamaru can be a very heavy sleeper? Well, he is. Even though Temari fell on the bed and made a big wave on the mattress, Shikamaru didn't notice it at all. Surprisingly, none of them noticed what had happened. Then they started move around. Temari didn't like spring mattresses, like the one she was on, so she had a hard time finding a good spot to sleep. In the end she found a spot…on Shikamaru's arm.

That was just the beginning. Temari was kind of cold. She was used to the hot sandy climate of the Sand Village, so she was almost shivering. Her subconscious mind, which does a lot of things, went closer to where it was warm, which was Shikamaru.

Shikamaru had his right hand behind his head and the other hand out, which was where Temari laid her head. Again surprisingly blood was still rushing through his arm even with Temari's head on it. Temari just kept getting closer and closer. They were almost snuggled together. Shikamaru was uncomfortable, I guess, so he moved his arm from behind his head and onto Temari's hip. If someone were to walk in at that very moment, they would be thinking the worst. Of course, someone did walk in, and of course, they thought the worst.

* * *

_At the arcade on the 74th level at 12:42 P.M._

"Wow! This place is pretty big! It looks like the arcade at the mall. They probably have every game invented here!" Naruto said, amazed as usual.

"They have eight DDR machines! They have laser-tag! There are some virtual sport games too! What are we waiting for? Let's play some games!" Kiba shouted.

Kiba was playing virtual soccer with Naruto. Rock Lee, Kankuro, and Neji were playing DDR. Who knew you could play DDR with three people?

Then, Neji saw someone who was playing one of the shooting games. It was…Chouji!

"Hey, Lee, Kankuro! Who does that look like over there?" Neji pointed to where Chouji was while still paying attention to DDR.

"That looks like Chouji!" Kankuro and Lee said, almost at the same time.

"That's what I thought. Let's go see if it is him." Neji said, stepping off of the DDR machine. Rock Lee and Kankuro followed suit.

"Uh…Chouji?" Kankuro asked.

"Huh? Kankuro! Hey! What are you…Neji, Rock Lee! What are you guys doing here?" Chouji turned around and ended his game.

"What are we doing here? What are you doing here?" Kankuro replied, answering Chouji's question with his own.

'This is obvious.' Neji thought. "Asuma-sensei brought you here on vacation. Gai-sensei and Asuma-sensei are very good friends and both decided to give a vacation to their students. I didn't know that it was going to be at the same hotel, on the same day though. How long have you been here? We just got here today." Neji spoke.

That was one of the longest talks Neji has ever said. Kankuro and Chouji looked at him, almost drooling at how much he just talked. They were very astonished at how much Neji could say at one time.

"Uhh…yeah. Ino and I just got here today." Chouji replied, shaking his head, from what seemed like a trance, from Neji's talking.

"Ino is here too! Sakura will be delighted to hear that!" Rock Lee cheered. He was always thinking of Sakura before himself. How sweet.

"Kiba and Naruto are playing soccer. I just got here today too. Shikamaru and Naruto got here today too! What a coincidence, huh?" Kankuro said.

It was truly an unexpected coincidence.

"Kiba! Naruto! Come over here! Guess who it is!" Kankuro shouted to Kiba and Naruto, who were still playing virtual soccer.

"Huh? Hey, is that Chouji?" Naruto asked. He stopped what he was doing and ran over to the group of guys.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Kiba shouted. He ended the soccer game and ran to catch up with Naruto.

"Chouji! What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

Neji sighed. He didn't want to explain again. "They're on vacation too." That was simple.

"Oh, okay! Kiba, Chouji's on vacation too!" Naruto told Kiba who was slightly panting from running to Naruto.

"Ino's here too. She's in our room though." Chouji replied to Naruto.

"Oh. Cool! Sakura and the rest of the girls can talk to her." Naruto said. He was thinking of Sakura a lot too; he's so much like Rock Lee.

"What time is it? I'm getting kinda hungry." Chouji said.

"You're always hungry." Naruto said. "But I'm hungry too. It's 2:43. Let's go eat some lunch."

"Yeah!" Everyone except Neji said. Neji just nodded.

The group ate lunch in the cafeteria (on the 3rd floor if you were paying attention). Naruto ate ramen, Chouji ate Korean BBQ, Kankuro and Kiba ate a hamburger, Neji ate udon, and Rock Lee ate spicy green curry.

Once they finished eating, they took the elevator up to the arcade, level 74. Since they were on level 3, it took a while to get up there, so they had a conversation.

"Hn. I don't feel like going to the arcade anymore. It was kind of boring. I'm starting to feel too old. (He _was_ 21.) I'll just go to my room and watch some TV.

"Awww…okay. Where are we going to eat dinner?" Chouji asked.

"You think about food too much, Chouji! But I guess we _should_ plan where to eat dinner." Naruto said. He looked at his map. "There's a fancy restaurant on the 90th floor. It's one of those spinning restaurants. (**A/N:** I love those restaurants. I went to the one in Thailand.)

"You mean a revolving restaurant?" Neji asked.

"Yeah, that's it! Let's go there!" Naruto proposed.

The group said okay.

"Hey, I never got to ask. What room are you in Chouji?" Kankuro asked politely.

"1006. What about you?" Chouji replied and asked back.

"I'm in 1003 with Naruto. Temari and Shikamaru are in 1001. Neji and Tenten are in 1000, Sakura and Rock Lee are in 1002, and Kiba and Hinata are in room 1004." Kankuro replied.

"Wow! An even bigger coincidence that our rooms are right next to each other."

"Yeah. Go figure." Kankuro said. "So I guess we'll catch up later and go to dinner with the girls?"

"Hai!" Everyone else said, except Neji, of course. He nodded once again.

The elevator stopped at level 74 and everyone stepped out except Kankuro. He pushed to button labeled 100 and the elevator doors closed.

* * *

Remember Shikamaru and Temari? We'll here's what happens next… 

"Hey Temari, are you…" Kankuro stopped and saw Shikamaru and Temari.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" Kankuro yelled out so loud that the sound could be heard from the end of the hall (and it was a long hall).

"Hmm…what? You say something?" Temari said, rubbing her eyes, getting up from her position, not knowing that she was on the sofa-bed next to Shikamaru in a situation that looked like she had just slept with him.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru said, also getting up and rubbing his eyes.

Temari looked next to her to see Shikamaru rubbing his eyes. She just realized what had happened. "Kankuro, it's not what you think!" Temari said, but it was kind of too late.

Kankuro was running toward Shikamaru, looking like he was going to strangle him.

"Kankuro! Stop!" Temari said, but he didn't stop. Temari did the only thing she could do. She defended Shikamaru. Well, actually, she punched Kankuro, right before he could strangle Shikamaru. "Kankuro! It was nothing. I was sleepwalking again. You can be such a drama queen."

"Nani (what)? Did something happen?" Shikamaru asked. He still didn't realize that Temari was on the bed or that Kankuro just tried to kill him or that Temari just saved him.

"For a genius, you're kind of slow." Temari said.

"What's that supposed to…what are you doing on this bed?" Shikamaru asked. He was so confused. It was so troublesome to have situations like these.

"Well, to put it simply, I sleepwalk." Temari said.

"Oh…okay…umm…what's Kankuro doing on the floor?" Shikamaru asked, a little less confused than before, but still confused.

"He was going to kill you because he saw you in bed with me, but I punched him before he could strangle you to death. No big deal." Temari said, like it was an average everyday thing.

"What!" Shikamaru almost shouted. He was still confused, even with his big brain.

"What what? There's no what! I already said what happened. Kankuro tried to kill you. I saved you…hey I saved you again. Another save by mwah!" Temari grinned and winked at the same time if that was possible.

Kankuro finally got up from the ground. His nose was bleeding a little, but no big deal. "What was that for?" Kankuro asked angry.

"Hello! You tried to kill Shikamaru just because he was sleeping with me. Gosh, you can be so dramatic, it's sad." Temari said, like sleeping with someone was an ordinary thing.

"Well since you put it that way!" Kankuro said sarcastically. 'I should be dramatic. I'm not letting my older sister waste her time on someone like him. Sure, he's my friend, but he's not getting my sister.' (**A/N:** Awww…a protective brother. How cute!) "I should be even angrier! What the heck were you doing!"

"Weren't you listening to me? I said that I was sleepwalking, okay? Boys make such a big deal out of everything." Temari said.

"Yeah, you just happen to sleepwalk in here, on the bed, on Shikamaru's arm?" Kankuro asked, still angry.

"Yeah! That's what happened!" Temari said. She was getting kind of pissed now.

"Hmph…next time, you're dead." Kankuro said, glaring at Shikamaru with an "I'm going to kill you soon" glare.

"Uhhh…don't worry! Nothing happened! I wouldn't do anything to your sister." Shikamaru said, hoping that Kankuro would believe him.

"What's that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't you do anything to me? Are you saying I'm not attractive!" Temari debated.

Shikamaru was in a bad situation. Whichever road he took, he'd die. 'Hmmm…which would be a better death? A brother strangling me for sleeping with his sister or a girl killing me for not wanting to make a move on her.'

"Uhhh…how can I get out of this situation and live?" Shikamaru said, part humorously and part literally.

"Don't worry. He can't kill you. He knows I'd kill him if he killed anyone I knew without my permission. Anyways, you're his friend. The worst he'll do is put you in a coma." Temari said with her "this happens everyday" kind of voice.

"Oh, that makes me feel better." Shikamaru said sarcastically.

"Whatever. Just don't do anything with Temari." Kankuro said.

"Kankuro! What fun is that! Pwease! (that wasn't a typo) He's kind of cute when he's going to get killed." Temari said giving her puppy eyes.

"Hn. Be that way. Gosh, you must be desperate using those eyes." Kankuro said. "I'll be in my room. See you guys at dinner." Kankuro left.

'This family is definitely the weirdest. What have I gotten myself into?' Shikamaru thought.

"Sorry about Kankuro. He can be so dramatic sometimes. I just have to white lie and tell him how great you are and stuff."

"Oh…" Shikamaru said, a little disappointed that Temari had to lie about how great Shikamaru was.

Temari could tell he was a tad disappointed. "One thing's true though."

"What's that?"

"You do look kinda cute when you're about to get killed! Bye!" Temari winked and left.

'What have I gotten myself into?' Shikamaru thought again.

* * *

**A/N: **Heh. I promise the next chapter will have more romance. I had to get everything set up though. It's just about there. 

**Song:** Coincidence in Life is a song, but I couldn't think of a song that would fit this chapter. I couldn't find a song that was about coincidence that I liked. I even wrote a song called Coincidence in Life. Maybe I'll post it. Lol. I wrote a song called Coincidence in Life about Temari and Shikamaru this summer, before I even thought of this story.


	5. Day 1 Confessions Something More What is

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto or else Shikamaru and Temari would be dating.**

**A/N: **I caught some grammar errors in the last chapter, and a time mix-up. I put 12 AM instead of PM. Sorry if you were confused at all.

If you think Temari is OOC (Out Of Character), she technically isn't. She only shows this side of her to those she's very close to.

This whole story was just supposed to be about my friend's dream. It turned out to be something much more than that. This chapter will have my friend's dream in it, so read this one if you read any!

**Published September 24, 2006**

**Chapter 5 - Confessions/Something More/What is This Feeling**

_1:20 P.M. 75th Floor. Sauna._

"Ahhh…that was a good swim!" Tenten said.

"Yeah! That was a big pool. My favorite was the spa though." Sakura said.

"I liked the spa too, Sakura." Hinata said.

"I thought I saw a big forehead!" a familiar voice insulted.

"Ino-pig! What are you doing here!" Sakura shouted.

"Hey, I can have a relaxing vacation, too!" Ino shouted back.

"What _are_ you doing here, Ino?" Hinata asked.

"Asuma-sensei gave Chouji and me the vacation we deserved. We're staying in room 1006. I didn't think I'd find you guys here though." Ino responded.

"Sakura and Rock Lee are staying in room 1002; Hinata and Kiba are in 1004; Shikamaru and Temari are in room 1001; Kankuro and Naruto are in 1003; and Neji and I are in 1000. What a coincidence! You're right next to us." Tenten said. What a coincidence indeed.

_5 minutes, of nonstop talking and catching up, later._

"I still can't believe I have to sleep in the same room as Rock Lee. His eyebrows are going to give me nightmares!" Sakura shivered slightly.

"I got an idea! Why don't you switch with Chouji and room with me! I don't wanna sleep in the same room as Chouji either. Those two boys will be better off together, and then we could spend more time with each other!

"Cool! I'll tell Lee when we get back." Sakura replied.

"Oh yeah! We're having a sleepover tonight! We were going to have it in Sakura's room, but since you guys are sharing, we'll have it in your room!" Tenten directed.

"Great idea!" Ino and Sakura said in unison.

"Temari's going to be there, right?" Ino asked Tenten.

"Of course! It isn't a true sleepover without Temari and you!" Tenten exclaimed.

"Yay! I haven't seen Temari in forever! Last time she was in Konoha, I could barely let her go. I really miss her." Ino remembered the moments when Temari was in Konoha.

_Temari and Ino were the closest of friends. They could've been sisters. Sometimes they even tell people they're sisters! They had so many of the same interests. Other than training, they loved to shop and boss Shikamaru around to buy them stuff. Good times._

"I'm sweating like crazy!" Ino whined. "Let's get out of here."

"Hai!" Everyone else responded.

_The group of girls went out of the sauna and walked to the elevator._ _On the elevator was a map of the hotel._

"Hmm…where should we eat dinner?" Sakura asked everyone.

"I don't know. I don't know how good anything is around here." Ino replied.

"Well, there is a fancy restaurant on the 90th floor." Hinata said, looking at the map. She was good at observing things on maps. "It's a revolving restaurant. It's called the Star Night Sky Restaurant. (**A/N:** Again, I'm not good with titles.)"

"Oh my gosh! A revolving restaurant!" Sakura and Ino shouted at the same time. It was scary how they could do that.

"Uh…yeah. It's an all-around restaurant. It says it has a Buffet, Bar, Wine Cellar, Kid's Corner, Private Parties, and more; specializing in Asian-fusion and traditional Japanese food." Tenten read off of the map.

"Wow. That's a lot of stuff. We should definitely go there!" Sakura said.

"And we could get all dressed up and stuff!" Ino added. "That would be so much fun. We could give each other makeovers and stuff."

"Yeah!" Everyone exclaimed. Like on cue, the elevator doors opened on the 100th floor and the girls went to get Temari, who wasn't in room 1002.

"Temari! Guess…" Sakura said, opening the door. Her loud cheer turned into a soft voice like Hinata's. "…what."

There was only one person in the room. "Shikamaru, where's Temari?" Tenten asked, seeing Temari nowhere to be found.

"She's in the room." Shikamaru said. He was flipping channels on TV. He didn't even turn his head to answer Tenten. Lazy-butt.

"I guess you mean room 1001? Thanks, Shikamaru, I guess." Tenten said. 'We could've concluded that ourselves.'

Temari sensed her friends' presence before they could knock on the door; she used a wind technique, without her fan, and turned the doorknob, letting her friends in. They went into room 1001 seeing Temari on her balcony, looking up at the clouds, lying on a chair (**A/N:** The chairs that are around a pool to tan. I forgot what it's called). Then Temari got up and greeted her pals.

"Hey you gu…Ino!" I guess Temari didn't know Ino was one of the presences at the door. "I'm so glad you're here! It's been way too long!" Temari said hugging Ino.

They all sat down on the couch and talked about why Ino's here and whatnot. All of it was already said sometime before, so no point in typing it again.

"So, when should we have dinner?" Hinata asked no one in particular.

"Where are we eating? Kankuro said there's this restaurant on the 90th floor. The boys wanna go there." Temari informed.

"That's where we want to go!" Sakura and Ino said in unison, again!

"Perfect! The boys should be back soon. It's already 4:30 and I'm getting hungry. I'll get Kankuro to get them." "Kankuro! Go downstairs and get the boys up here!" Temari shouted just loud enough to hear from room 1003.

"But Temari!" Kankuro shouted back, with a whiny tune in his voice.

"Kankuro!" Temari shouted angrily.

"Yes, Temari." Kankuro unwillingly said with a sluggish voice.

* * *

_74th Floor. Arcade._

"Ha! Beat you again, Naruto!" Kiba grinned at Naruto.

"Whatever. This is getting boring. Let's do something else." Naruto said, crossing his arms, looking a bit pissed off and irritated.

"You're just jealous because I beat you again, aren't ya? But I guess you're right. It is getting kind of boring. We've been here for a while. Let's go see what the other guy's are doing." Kiba ran off to where Neji and Rock Lee were. They were playing some virtual gun-shooting game.

"I shot you already, Neji! You should be dead now!" Rock Lee whined. Neji probably would have won, if he could use his jutsus and whatnot, but this was only guns. Rock Lee was too fast for Neji so he could never get shot. It's a very logical explanation.

"Whatever." (**A/N:** What's with these guys saying whatever? Oh yeah, I wrote it like that.) Neji crossed his arms and took off his virtual-game helmet and looked at Kiba and Naruto.

"Neji! We're bored." Kiba and Naruto whined together.

"What do you want me to do about it? I'm not your mother." Neji turned around, no longer facing Kiba and Naruto, and walked away, Rock Lee following. "Just go up to your room and watch TV or something." Kiba and Naruto followed as well.

Neji saw Chouji on his way out and somehow got him to stop eating his chips and get up from the bench he was sitting on. Then Chouji followed Neji and Rock Lee out to the elevator, with Kiba and Naruto following a couple meters away.

"He sounds like a mother to me." Kiba whispered, mumbling to Naruto.

"I heard that." Neji said. Of course Neji heard it; he can hear everything you say.

When they got to the elevator, the doors slid open and Kankuro was standing inside, about to step out. Of course he didn't step out because he was only supposed to get the other guys upstairs.

"You guys done already? Good, 'cause Temari said to get upstairs. The girls wanna go to the same restaurant as us. Coincidence, huh?" Kankuro said, slightly gesturing the guys to get in the elevator already.

"Mmm." They nodded as they stepped in the elevator. It was pretty silent in the elevator. I guess they were kind of tired to talk.

* * *

_Everyone was in room 1001, Temari and Shikamaru's room. Everyone was in the living room part of the hotel. Ino, Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, and Kiba were on the couch, next to each other, in that order. Shikamaru was leaning against the wall, next to the sofa. Neji and Tenten were in two chairs, next to a desk. Rock Lee, Chouji, and Kankuro were sitting on the floor, legs crossed. Temari was leaning against the wall, next to the TV, facing everyone._

"I knew you boys wouldn't be smart enough to make a reservation, so I made reservations for 7:00, okay? If that's not good with you, too bad!" Temari spoke.

Everyone agreed. It was now 4:43 P.M. There were less than 2½ hours until dinner.

"Let's get ready! We don't have much time. Let's go to my room!" Ino said, specifically to the girls in the group. "Oh yeah; Chouji, I'm going to move your stuff to Sakura's old room, 1002, and you're gonna stay with Rock Lee. Here's the key." Ino threw a red room key to Chouji. 'Kay, see you boys in two hours!" Ino smiled. The girls left the room and went to room 1006.

_The girls did their hair, tried on many dresses, put on accessories, did each other's make-up, gossiped about random topics, and, well, you get the point. They did a lot of stuff. No wonder they needed two hours. Well at least most of them did. It was now 6:01 P.M._

"Eh, you know, I don't really need anymore time to get ready. I think I'll just go back to my room. I'll see you guys later!" Temari left the room.

Temari didn't see the reason why some people would need to take so long to get ready. It shouldn't be that time-consuming. Hinata and Tenten usually take half an hour just to pick out an outfit. It only took Temari a minute or two. It wasn't that hard. Ino and Sakura seemed to take at least an hour to put on make-up. Sometimes Temari wondered how much make-up those two could put on in a day; seemed like many pounds. Temari took only ten to twenty minutes. Sometimes Temari wondered why she was so different from the rest of the girls.

* * *

Temari went back to her room, 1001. It was empty. Everyone had left. She could hear Kiba and Naruto yelling about something on TV and Rock Lee trying to end the fight. Temari went to the balcony. The sun was setting and the sky was an orange-red color. (**A/N:** I don't know Japan geography.) Temari liked wake up late at night to see stars shine their brightest; it soon became a habit.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were getting ready." A voice came from behind Temari. She knew that voice anywhere. He had just come out of the bedroom.

"What do you want, genius?" Temari asked. She was having such a peaceful time watching the sun set; she didn't sense anyone coming her way. She wanted to relax and watch the sun set.

"Nothing; I was going to watch the clouds while there were still some out." Shikamaru went over to the balcony, next to Temari. He copied Temari and put his elbows on the white railing in front of him.

"Fine, just don't bother me. I'm trying to watch the sun set in peace here."

"Hn."

There was a long silence. Shikamaru was looking at the clouds and Temari was watching the sun set. It was very quiet and peaceful.

Breaking the silence, Temari spoke. "You know, Shikamaru, you're not too bad."

Shikamaru didn't say anything. He was still looking up at the clouds, like Temari said nothing.

"Don't ignore me. I know you can hear me." Temari turned her head from the setting sun to Shikamaru's face. "After seven years, I think I understand you pretty well. I know that you understand me too, even more than myself. You're probably the only person I know who truly understands me."

"Hn?" Shikamaru was slightly confused. 'I know her more than she knows herself. I can't know her that well.'

"I thought you were a genius?" Temari questioned. To her, it seemed obvious that Shikamaru knew her best, ever since that day at their first Chuunin Exams.

"I'm just a "book-genius". I'm just as smart as everyone else in the social department." Shikamaru turned to Temari, since they were starting to have a conversation.

"Well, you _do_ know me, okay?" Something about Temari and sunsets made her different. She wasn't her angry, aggressive, overpowering self. Right now, she was soft, vulnerable, and caring. Who knew sunsets could change you so much. "I barely know myself. Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata; Sometimes I wonder if we're really friends. You know?"

"No, I don't. It's too troublesome to think of something like that." Shikamaru sighed.

"You've probably never felt that way. You have tons of friends. Without Konoha, all I have are my brothers, and that's kinda sad." Temari sighed back.

"Hn."

"I know what you're thinking. I may speak out loud, but at least you listen. Thanks, crybaby!" Temari hugged Shikamaru and lightly kissed him on the cheek. Don't think it was a passionate meaningful cheek. It was a "thanks for talking with me, friend" kiss, if that's possible. Temari left the balcony and went to the bedroom to watch TV.

Shikamaru blushed slightly at the unexpected peck. 'Troublesome woman.' Shikamaru thought. 'I don't get them at all.'

* * *

_It was 6:50 P.M. The twelve ninjas took the elevator down to the 90th floor. In front of the elevator was the entrance to the Star Night Sky Restaurant. They went in and Temari told the guy in the front about their reservation and all that information. The front desk person called to a waiter and seated everyone. They were in a private room and were seated in a long, rectangular table._

_On the left side were Kiba, Hinata, Naruto, Temari, Tenten, and Neji in that order. On the right side were Kankuro, Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Sakura, and Rock Lee. That meant that Kiba was across from Kankuro, Ino was across from Hinata, and so on._

The menu was filled with just about everything you could ever think of from all across the world. There was so much food, I, the narrator and writer, couldn't even type all of it, so I won't because that's the lazy FanFiction narrator/writer I am. I'm too lazy to type what everyone was eating too, so I won't. It's not important anyways.

"Sakura! Do you need help with your food?" Rock Lee asked, seeing Sakura's hands full.

"Yeah, I do. Thanks, Lee!" Sakura gave Rock Lee two plates and held two plates herself.

"You know, Sakura, you have become very strong these few years." Rock Lee complimented.

"Thanks, Lee! You've become pretty strong yourself!" Sakura smiled.

"We do not talk as much as we used to." Rock Lee looked slightly sad.

"Well, you know. I'm busy with medical stuff and you're always training with Gai-sensei. Plus with all the missions and stuff, there's not really anytime we can hang out." Sakura pointed out. She used to hate Rock Lee, but now she felt as though, they were really close friends. He was always so protective and caring to her.

They arrived at their table and put the plates down.

"Thanks for helping me, Lee." Sakura thanked Lee, and then sat down next to him.

Naruto was already eating his fourth bowl of ramen. "Hey, Sakura, you should get some of this ramen; it's delicious! It's almost as good at Ichiraku's!

'He's 19 yet he still acts like when we were 12.' Sakura thought of the past. 'Same old Naruto.' "Naruto! I told you not to eat so much ramen; it's gotta be bad eating so much!

_In another part of the restaurant, Neji and Tenten were talking while getting some food._

"That looks good!" Tenten said pointing at a picture of some udon on a menu.

"Hn." Neji replied.

'Sometimes I wonder what he's really thinking.' Tenten thought.

The truth of it was, Neji wasn't thinking of something, but more like someone. Neji and Tenten have known each other since they were nine. Eleven years have past and they have grown up to still be great friends. He wondered, maybe they were more than that. Sadly, Neji wasn't good with his feelings or being open about things like this, so nothing ever happened between the two.

"We've been friends for a long time, haven't we?" Tenten smiled. 'Yup, we have. It's been eleven years since we were at the Academy. Seems like forever ago but I could still remember Neji. He was never talkative and was always top of our class, a real prodigy. We've been friends ever since we became genin, nine years ago. I've wondered if there was something more between us.'

"Hn." Neji replied. He ordered some udon, the one Tenten was pointing to, while Tenten was busy thinking.

'I've known Neji for a long time. I know he won't make the first move. It's unlike him. I'll have to make it myself, but when? I know we're more than friends. I'm just wondering if we're ready. Tomorrow; I promise.' Tenten told herself.

"Tenten, are you listening?" Neji asked.

Tenten stepped out of thought and replied. "What? I wasn't paying attention."

"You must always stay on alert. Our food's here. Let's go back to the table." Neji said, taking their bowls of udon to their table.

If you were paying attention, you would know that Tenten and Neji were sitting across from Sakura and Rock Lee. They mingled and had random talks from cherries to kumquats to jellybeans to cosmos flowers; don't ask how that happened. When they weren't talking or eating food, neither of them knew it, but Sakura and Tenten were both thinking about relationships.

'I used to always think he was an annoying wannabe. What happened? After Jiraiya trained Naruto, when he came back two years later I couldn't help but have feelings for him. What's wrong with me? We were only friends and now I'm thinking about possibly being in love with him? I gotta stop thinking about this. I haven't thought about this since the day we saw each other after his two-and-a-half year leave. If I'm going to make a move, I'd better make it now, before he finds someone else. Yeah! I've made up my mind! Naruto's going to be mine! Oh my gosh, what has happened to my life?'

Tenten was thinking the same thing. 'What has happened to my life? We were friends, only friends! Nothing more! I shouldn't be having these feelings. I don't want to have these feelings! What's wrong with me? Maybe I'm making a big mistake. I shouldn't make a move on Neji. What if he doesn't like me back? Then our friendship will be so awkward! It's too much of a risk…but if he does like me, our relationship will change from friends to lovers. Should I risk a friendship for love?' Tenten sighed out loud. 'Love is so confusing.'

_Sitting in the middle of the table were Temari and Shikamaru. They sat across from each other, if you drew a diagram of their seating like me._

Shikamaru was thinking the same thing as Tenten. 'Love is so confusing. Is it really worth the trouble to work so hard for love? Too many consequences and not enough benefits.' He thought. 'She's just a flirter and nothing more than that.' Shikamaru tried to keep that in his head, but couldn't. 'Why couldn't I have a higher IQ in this? So troublesome. Women like Temari; she can be so unkind, rude, and heartless yet sometimes she can be pleasant, caring, and kindhearted when she wanted to be. That was the problem…when she wanted to be.' Shikamaru didn't know what he was getting into when he let Temari watch clouds with him. He wasn't thinking far enough. He thought it would be less troublesome to let her sit, then tell her to go. That was very far from what happened. She kept coming every time she was in Konoha, and coincidently, Shikamaru was always there watching clouds before she came. She would fall asleep and Shikamaru would always have to take her to her hotel and hand her to Kankuro. Shikamaru was lazy, but he was a gentleman. He wouldn't just let her stay asleep in the open unprotected. 'Troublesome. I'll think about it later, if it's not too troublesome.'

After dinner, and a lot of chocolate desserts thanks to the chocolate fountains, they had to figure out who was going to pay. They could've just asked Shikamaru to do the math and stuff, but then Shikamaru wouldn't be the lazy-butt he always was.

"I don't have money! I'm not paying." Naruto said.

"Me, neither!"

"Yeah, me too!"

"Sorry, no money here!"

"Oops. I got no money either."

It just kept going on and on, until…

"Temari has money! I saw it in her purse." Kankuro shouted, pointing at Temari.

"And what exactly were you doing looking in my purse?" Temari was angry. She didn't like it when people went into her personal belongings.

"I had to get some…uh…make-up?" Kankuro replied. It was the best thing he could think of. Most people thought he wore make-up anyways.

"Whatever! I'll beat you up later. I'm not paying for this." Temari stated.

"Shikamaru has money!" Ino pointed to Shikamaru and everyone stared at him.

Shikamaru had his arms crossed. "What? I'm not paying for dinner."

"Well, no one else has money except Temari and Shikamaru, so one of you has to pay." Sakura pointed out.

"Hmph. I have an idea. We can have a contest. You and me, crybaby. We'll have a drinking contest. Whoever can drink the most shots wins and whoever loses has to pay for everyone's food and the drinks, got it?" Temari asked the man across from him.

"Why should I?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, you don't want to pay for everyone, do you? You know I can make you pay if I wanted to. At least this way, you'll have a 1 chance of getting out here with money in your pockets." Temari stated. She was right. Temari could some freaky things to make people do just about anything.

"Deal." Shikamaru said.

"We'll go get the drinks! Come on, Sakura!" Ino said, running to the bar to get lots of alcohol.

Temari just glared at Shikamaru while they waited for their drinks.

When the drinks arrived, there were ten shot glasses on each side of the table. Each one was filled with a different alcohol. Sakura and Ino had ten bottles each in their arms. Sakura refilled Temari's glasses and Ino's refilled Shikamaru's.

"Ready, set, go!" Kiba, Kankuro, and Chouji shouted.

They both grabbed the first cup, which was Sake. They both gulped it down quickly. Next was Vodka. Then Tequila, followed by Rum, Gin, Scotch, Brandy, Bourbon, Soju, and Wine were swallowed in that order. It just went on like that until about fifteen minutes later.

Things were slowing down. Shikamaru and Temari's bellies were stuffed with alcohol. Next drink was Scotch. Temari took her drink and gulped it down like it was water. Shikamaru followed. It wasn't easy to keep up with Temari.

'No fair. She's 22 and I'm 19. I'm not even supposed to have alcohol yet, though I have before, it wasn't worth the after effects. She's already been a legal drinker for two years! I don't know how much longer I can take this. I can barely see; everything's blurry. I can…barely…pick up…glass...' At that moment, Shikamaru's head fell onto the table and Temari would be announced the winner if she drank the last shot of Brandy. She knew she could drink it, but something told her not to. Maybe it was her stomach from all that alcohol, with no food to absorb it, or maybe she felt bad for Shikamaru. Did she have feelings for him? Well I guess she did.

Temari's head fell over as well, closing her eyes and thinking about what she just did. What did she just do? She didn't beat Shikamaru, but she didn't lose to him either. Once she thought more and more, she fell deep in sleep.

It was a more horrible situation for the rest of the gang. Who was going to pay for the food!

Then Neji spoke. "Let's just take both of their money and split the cost between them."

"Hai!" Everyone nodded.

"So…what do we do with them?" Tenten asked.

"Just leave them there." Ino said.

"Hai." Everyone replied. They left Shikamaru and Temari, paid the guy at the front desk, and took the elevator upstairs. It was 9:58 P.M.

* * *

_11:30 P.M. in room 1006, Ino and Sakura's room._

"Hmmm…Temari should be here by now. The restaurant closes at 12." Tenten pointed out, looking at the clock. "I'm getting kind of worried."

"Me, too. We should've taken them back with us." Hinata added.

"Well, it's too late to think about what we should've done. Let's just wait for her a couple more minutes, and then we can go downstairs to find her." Sakura suggested.

"Okay. I'm still a little worried though." Hinata said.

"Don't worry! Temari can take care of herself. She has Shikamaru too. He's pretty strong. They'll be fine." Ino assured Hinata. "I wish Temari would come already though! It's not a slumber party without her!"

_15 minutes later._

"Okay, let's go get her! This is way too long!" Ino said, louder than her usual voice and slightly angry.

"Yeah! She should be here by now." Sakura added.

The four girls went to the elevator, but there was a message in red on a screen, on the side of the elevator, blinking. It said, " OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE TAKE STAIRS ON LEFT OR RIGHT. "

"Oh no! What if they got stuck in the elevator!" Ino spoke her thought.

"They are. I used my Byukagan." Hinata confirmed.

"Let's just leave them there. I'm getting kind of tired. We'll just have a slumber party tomorrow or something."

"Hai!" Everyone went to their rooms and went to sleep. It's true, they were all tired; it was a busy day.

* * *

"Uhhh…excuse me, miss, we're closing. You're going to have to leave now. Miss?" A waiter who was picking up the plates said.

"Huh?" Temari woke up from her long nap. "What time is it?"

"It is 11:30 P.M., miss. Can you get your friend up too?" The man said, still picking up some dishes.

"Oh…yeah, sure." Temari got up and went to the other side of the table to get Shikamaru.

"Wake up, lazy-ass. It's time to go." Temari said. She sounded very casual, even though she had finished drinking many shots of a variety of drinks.

"Nani?" Shikamaru half-opened his right eye.

"Hello! Come on! It's already 11:30. The place is closing up! Let's go!" Temari shouted into Shikamaru's ear.

"Owww…well how rude of me." Shikamaru sarcastically said. "I gotta go to the bathroom."

"Me too. That was too many drinks. I didn't think you'd last that long; pretty good for a minor." Temari complimented Shikamaru. 'Damn it, did I just compliment him. Damn alcohol.'

'Nani? Did she just compliment me on my drinking? Troublesome.' Shikamaru thought.

Shikamaru got up from his chair and they both went to their designated bathroom, seeing how their bladder wouldn't be big enough to hold a gallon of alcohol. When they were finished in the bathroom, they walked out of the restaurant which was totally empty, except for some busboys.

Shikamaru and Temari, who were still a bit wobbly (Shikamaru especially), walked to the elevator. When they walked in, the doors closed, and the elevator went up. Then out of nowhere, it suddenly stopped. It caught Shikamaru and Temari off guard. With Shikamaru being so wobbly, he fell over onto Temari, who was holding on to a railing. Shikamaru's fall made Temari fall and they were both on the ground. The light in the elevator was flickering and eventually flicked off completely.

"Oh great! Now we're stuck in here." Temari complained. "Shi-ka-ma-ru!" Temari shouted angrily.

"Nani?" Shikamaru said.

"Get off of me! Your hand's on my ass." Temari pushed Shikamaru off of herself. Then she leaned against one of the walls.

"How was I supposed to know? I can't see in the dark." Shikamaru replied back.

"Whatever. Looks like we'll be in here for a while. We probably won't get out until morning." Temari affirmed.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru said.

"For once, I agree with you. This is definitely troublesome. I was supposed to be at a sleepover right now." Temari said. "Where are you? I can't see a thing."

"I'm right here." Shikamaru put his right arm on Temari's shoulder. "I can hear your voice, and measure where your shoulder would be. Very simple really."

"Well sorry for asking, genius." Temari retorted.

"Let's just get to sleep. I'm tired. We drank enough alcohol for one lifetime." Shikamaru said, moving away from Temari and trying to find a spot comfortable to sleep.

"Hmmm…I wonder how everyone paid for the food." Temari wondered.

"What do you mean? Didn't they…why do I still have some money?" Shikamaru was confused. He was sure he lost.

"Well, if you must know, I fainted after you did. I didn't drink the last shot. There, okay?" Temari said. She was a little embarrassed to say that she was tied in a drinking contest with Shikamaru, a guy who probably never drank a drop before while she's been drinking for two years already.

"Really?" Shikamaru asked rhetorically. 'No way! I know Temari and she was definitely able to drink that last shot, but she didn't. Why? Troublesome woman.'

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. No big deal. I guess they split the bill between our money." Temari concluded.

"Hn." Shikamaru said. He finally found a spot comfortable to sleep in.

"Damn, it's cold in here." Temari shivered slightly, rubbing her hands against her arms. She was so used to the Konoha warm weather and Sand Village hot weather. In a pitch-black elevator, there's not much heat to go around.

"Here." Shikamaru threw his jacket to Temari which landed on her lap.

"I don't need your jacket. You're probably colder than I am." Temari put her hands on her hip.

"I think you need it more than me. I'm a fast sleeper anyways. Just take the jacket already." Shikamaru said, closing his eyes and starting to fall asleep.

"I just wanted to look up at the stars. Now I won't be able to. Just great." Temari whispered.

"You watch the stars now?" Shikamaru asked, sitting up from his sleeping position.

"Yeah, I always have." Temari covered herself with Shikamaru's jacket. "Ever since I was little. So what?"

"Hn. Nothing." Shikamaru said. It was more than nothing. He never knew that Temari watched the stars. Shikamaru watched stars too, when it was too dark for clouds and wanted to look up at the sky. Shikamaru went back down to his sleeping position.

Temari was feeling sleepy so she lay down on the floor. Then she felt a breath on her face. It was Shikamaru. They were sleeping right next to each other. She was in a very comfortable position and he kept on turning, so she just stayed where she was, thinking that he was going to turn his head to the other side.

Shikamaru didn't know he was breathing on Temari, or even that she was right next to him. He was still trying to sleep. He couldn't find the comfortable position he had before. He kept on making small twists and turns.

Temari didn't realize how close they really were until _it_ happened. Shikamaru turned and brushed his lips across Temari's. Both lips were still touching each other. Then Temari took her chance and kissed Shikamaru on the lips. She couldn't tell if it was a flirt or something else that controlled over her.

Shikamaru turned his head and surprisingly caught Temari's lips off guard. Then out of nowhere, he could feel Temari's lips pushed harder onto his. 'What is this feeling? What the hell is she doing? Great, this is going to end up troublesome.' He was either too lazy to back away or he didn't want to.

'Why isn't he backing away? Damn his lazy-ass. I can't tell if he's too lazy or likes it. He's definitely not like other guys.' Temari let go of her kiss and breathed out loud. "What's wrong with you!"

"What wrong with _me_? What's wrong with you! You're the one who kissed me you troublesome woman." Shikamaru questioned.

"Uh!" Temari said. "Here." Temari threw Shikamaru's jacket against the wall. "I don't need it." It's true, she didn't need it. Her face was flushed by kiss. Usually she's never flushed when kissing a guy, and she's kissed a lot of guys more passionately than this. It was just something about Shikamaru. "Let's just get back to sleep. Good night!" Temari said angrily. She was kind of pissed off that she couldn't figure Shikamaru out. He was so complicated!

"Sorry." Shikamaru said softly in a whisper.

"Nani?" Temari was confused. "Why are you saying sorry?"

"This is too troublesome, even for you. Go to sleep."

"Sorry." Temari said just as soft as Shikamaru. (**A/N:** How kawaii was that!)

Shikamaru and Temari smirked at the exact same time. They were still facing each other. They were still close enough that Shikamaru was breathing on Temari and Temari was breathing on Shikamaru. They were so close; they could feel each other's smirks.

'Heh, he smirked.'

'Hn. She smirked.'

'Maybe we are something more. I'll find out tomorrow.' Temari thought and decided.

'What is this feeling? I'll find out tomorrow.' Shikamaru thought and concluded.

(**A/N:** That's the exaggerated part of my friend's dream. In her dream, she was going on a field trip with her school and got stuck in the elevator with a boy. That's all she remembered.)

* * *

**A/N:** I had to squeeze so much stuff in. I made sure I put in romance! This chapter was really long; the longest chapter yet! It was 16 pages long!

If you have any music titles you want me put in, tell me! I could fit just about anything into the story.

**Song:** Originally, the title was going to be two songs. Then I switched to one song, and then it was switched back to two songs. Then I added another song. They were Confessions - Usher, Something More - Aly & AJ and What is This Feeling - Wicked. Wicked's a great musical! I couldn't fit What is This Feeling into this chapter until the end. Confessions fits really well in the story because they are confessing stuff about their love life. Something More really fit great with this chapter everywhere though. You should listen to the song on YouTube or download it; then you'll see why it's perfect for this chapter. What is This Feeling is supposed to be a "love-hate relationship" thing. Something More is a "are we more than friends?" kind of thing.


	6. Day 1&2 ConfessionsPt2 Something More Pt

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Sasuke would be dead by now or at least not an ass all the time.**

**A/N:** Did you guys want a make-out scene in the last chapter? I thought it would be inappropriate but I guess it isn't according to my friend. So you want a make-out scene, tell me, and you'll get it in the next chapter. I'll just say they make-out though because I'm not good with make-out scenes.

Back onto the story, I think this chapter turned out pretty good.

**Published September 28, 2006**

**Chapter 6 - Confessions Pt. 2/Something More Pt. 2/Always On My Mind**

_Last night, when Tenten went into her hotel room._

Neji's was on the couch watching the news on TV.

"Hey Neji! Why aren't you sleeping yet?" Tenten yawned.

"I'm not tired and I missed the news before, so I'm watching it now." Neji answered monotonously, not turning his head when answering.

"Can I sit with you?" Tenten asked, walking over to Neji.

"Hn." Neji replied. That was his way of saying 'sure'. Tenten understood his language. She had known him for so many years; she learned his language of hns and mms.

"So…umm…you've been watching the news this whole time?" Tenten asked, wanting to strike a conversation.

"Hn." Neji said. That was another 'yes'.

'Well this is going great. Why am I trying to make conversation anyways? I said I would take initiative tomorrow, not today. I'm going too fast…wait, I'm going to slow! I've been friends with Neji for _how many years!_ I've never made a move on him yet, though I continually flirt, hoping he does something. He's Neji for Kami's sake! He doesn't know that I'm flirting with him!' Tenten sighed. "Neji, there's something I want to ask you."

"Hmm?" Neji turned off the TV and looked at Tenten. When someone asked a question, he paid full attention.

"Umm…I just wanted to ask…if you…" Tenten started. "…_like me._" She softly said.

'Did I hear correctly?' "Could you speak a little louder Tenten?"

"Do you like me?" Tenten asked again, without hesitation.

"Of course I like you. You're my teammate and close friend." Neji replied.

Tenten sighed and put her hand on her head. 'I knew he would say something like that. He doesn't even know what I meant. He is such a genius as a ninja, but a dimwit as a lover.' "That's not really what I meant, Neji. I meant if you liked me more as a friend, and more than a best friend, as a…girl…friend."

It was silent for a very long time. Neji didn't know how to answer. Sure, he's been asked by many fangirls if they could be his girlfriend, but he knew what to say. This, he wasn't sure of. Tenten was one of his best friends but he never thought of her as anything more than that. "I don't know." Neji crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He faced the TV, away from Tenten.

"Oh. Okay. Umm…see you tomorrow, 'kay? See ya." Tenten put on a fake smile, waved goodbye, and left. 'He either doesn't know or he doesn't want to hurt my feelings.'

Either way, it sucked.

_Inner Neji (IN): For a genius, you can be a real baka at times._

_Neji (N): Who the hell are you?_

_IN: I'm your inner-self of course. Well, I'm the more lovable and social side of you. I've always been with you, but you probably didn't even know you had me._

_N: Well, why are you here now? What do you want?_

_IN: I wanted to tell you how big a baka you just were. You've never had to use me before because you could handle all the fangirls. This is different, it's Tenten._

_N: I can see that. So, help me already._

_IN: Pushy, pushy. Don't worry. Just listen to me, 'kay. Tenten has been your friend for a very long time. You both know that, but you don't know how much her feelings have grown for you. Let me ask you a question. Do you know why Tenten always wants to be around you, sit with you, talk with you, and communicate at all with you when she could be having fun with her friends?_

_N: Because she's my friend?_

_IN: Well, yes and no. She cares deeply for you and she's been flirting with you ever since you guys became teenagers._

_N: I don't see the difference between friend and girlfriend._

_IN: I know you don't. Tenten would be so much different if she was your girlfriend. Your relationship would deepen and you two would be able to share anything with each other._

_N: We already share things with each other. I still don't see a difference._

_IN: Let's pretend Tenten **was** your girlfriend and she came to you one day. She would tell you how her day went, what's going on in her life, and she'd be totally open to you. She hasn't been totally honest with you if you haven't noticed. She tries to act all happy and cheerful around you so you won't feel bad. She won't cry in front of you because she doesn't want you feeling bad because you wouldn't know how to react. She's been hiding a lot from you, okay? You've got to learn that with Tenten as a girlfriend, your life changes. Your 20 years old and have never been on a date. Tenten's trying so hard to be that person who makes you happy forever and always. Get it now?_

_N: I think so. So I'm just supposed to go up to her and ask her to be my girlfriend?_

_IN: You might as well. You told her you didn't know. She knew you wouldn't know. How could you! You hang out with that Nara guy who's never had a girlfriend, the dog-boy who gets a new girlfriend every week, Lee who is the least subtle at telling Sakura that she's 'the one', Kankuro who can't find the 'right one', Chouji who is too shy to even try to ask a girl a question, and Naruto who, well, is Naruto!_

_N: I-I never noticed that before._

_IN: Of course you didn't! You never notice the sociality of your peers. All you've been thinking about lately is training and whatnot. Now get up and make your move before Tenten's gone! She's not going to wait for you forever you know!_

_N: I know._

Neji got up from the couch and knocked on the door to the bedroom. 'I can't believe I'm listening to a voice inside my head.' '_I heard that!_'

Tenten opened the door. "What is it, Neji?" Tenten had a puzzled look on her face.

"I'm sorry." Neji sounded he didn't know what he was saying since he still had a monotonous sound in his voice.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Tenten asked, more puzzled than before.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't know what you meant before." Neji apologized again. This time he knew what he was saying.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. We're still friends." Tenten smiled but she was faking it.

"I know you're lying. It's not okay. I do like you, more than a friend, and more than a best friend. I like you as a girlfriend." Neji confessed with certainty.

"Wha…really?" Tenten spoke, taken back by this.

"Of course really or else I wouldn't have said it." Neji replied.

Tenten smiled genuinely and hugged Neji with her arms around his neck. Neji was surprised by her action. Then Tenten kissed Neji on the lips, but just for a couple of seconds. The kiss was too fast for Neji; he didn't have time to respond. Then she quickly let go of Neji, went to the bathroom, and shut the door.

'Oh my gosh. What did I just do? Neji said he liked me! I knew we were something more.' Tenten danced and jumped around the bathroom like a teenager in love should, even though she was 20.

Neji was stunned by the unexpected kiss. He stood still where he was. 'Is that the difference between a friend and a girlfriend?' he asked himself. '_That's just a small bit of it. Wait till tomorrow when she tells everyone._' Neji sighed and turned the TV on again.

* * *

_The next morning in the elevator._

"What the…?" Temari said. She had just woken up because a certain someone was snoring. 'Shikamaru, damn, why you gotta be so freaking loud.' Shikamaru kept snoring. Temari started to remember what happened last night.

'Damn you Shikamaru. You're freaking three years younger than me for Kami's sake. You're not even allowed to drink yet. What the hell have I gotten myself into?' Temari thought. This was a big problem.

Temari had tons of flings, but never really loved anyone. It was kind of sad that she never had a long relationship; her longest was probably three months. She had the bad boys, the good guys, the heartbroken, average Joe, and more. Temari probably dated just about every single guy in Suna _and_ Konoha. You wouldn't believe how many Konoha guys wanted Temari and who could blame them? Temari was one of the prettiest girls in Konoha and definitely the prettiest in Suna.

"Damn you, damn you, DAMN you!" Temari spoke out loud, very angrily. She didn't notice that she was banging her fist into Shikamaru's arm. This caused him to wake up and yell like hell.

"Troublesome woman, what were you doing?" Shikamaru asked. He rubbed his now bruised arm.

Temari stepped out of her head. 'I guess I was thinking out loud again.' "…huh? Oh nothing. Sorry." Temari sounded like she was somewhere else and wasn't paying attention to Shikamaru.

"Women, I don't understand them at all." Shikamaru sighed.

"I can't believe you! What the hell is wrong with you!" Temari shouted.

"Nani? What are you talking about?" He was so confused. 'I just woke up. I know I didn't do anything wrong.' Shikamaru thought.

"You're nineteen! You've only been out on one date your whole life and it was a blind-double-date! (**A/N:** No offense to those who've never been on a date that are nineteen.) There are so many girls that would do anything for a date with you and yet you just watch the clouds." Temari shouted. How can you live your life like that…not caring?" Temari said slightly softer.

'Mood swing? Definitely. This is going to be troublesome to explain.' Shikamaru thought. "I've only been on one date because I have never found someone that I thought I could be serious with. Plus, a date with Ino was and is never going to be a good idea. Those "girls" are just fangirls. They know nothing about me and only care that I'm a hard-to-get Chuunin. I watch the clouds because it calms me and makes me feel good. You should know; it's just like watching the stars." Shikamaru said with his eyes closed and arms crossed.

Temari was silent. She didn't know what to say. What could she say? Shikamaru answered everything perfectly. He truly was a genius. Then she replayed his words in her head like a record player.

'_**I have never found someone that I thought I could be serious with…I have never found someone that I thought I could be serious with…I thought I could be serious with…serious with.**'_ 'He really doesn't love me that way.' Temari's face saddened.

Shikamaru noticed. "Are you alright?" He asked, confused yet again.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, whatever." She sounded like she did before, her mind somewhere else. She was totally lying and Shikamaru could tell.

Shikamaru sighed. "What's wrong?" He asked with a tone like he had to.

"Nothing, okay!" Temari shouted. She still had a sad look on her face.

'I was just trying to be sympathetic, troublesome woman.' Shikamaru thought.

Temari sighed. Like on cue, the elevator started to work again.

At the same time, Temari and Shikamaru thought. 'Finally I'll be able to get out of this place and think.'

The elevator doors opened at floor 100 and both ninjas went to their hotel room. Shikamaru sat on the couch and Temari went straight to the balcony. There were many clouds in the sky. The wind was blowing the clouds softly across the sky. Temari felt relaxed.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

"I heard that, genius. It isn't my fault we like the same things." Temari shouted, just loud enough for Shikamaru to hear. Temari turned around and left the balcony and faced Shikamaru. Shikamaru had his hand in a fist and leaning his hand on it. His elbow was leaning on the arm of the couch. Temari put her hands on her hips.

"We're going to have to talk sometime. You should know that, genius." Temari said, expecting a reply.

"Hn." That was all she got.

"What the hell is wrong with you! You may have an IQ over 200, but you know nothing! Do you know how long we've known each other? Do you even know why I put you on a blind-date with Ino? Do you know why I've been trying to get you a girlfriend? You don't know anything! You're such an ass!" Temari shouted. 'Damn hotel. Damn elevator. Damn kiss. Damn Shikamaru.' Then she ran to the bedroom and slammed the door. She had to think, for a long time.

'What the hell was that?' Shikamaru thought. 'Gah. Women, especially Temari. Too troublesome to even try to understand.'

"What the hell was that?" (more déjà vu!) Kankuro opened the connecting door between room 1001 and 1003. "I could hear Temari from my room." Then Kankuro got a little angry. "Did you do something to her? If you did, you know I'm going to have to hurt you, right?" Kankuro's hand formed a fist and hit his other hand.

"I didn't do anything! She just randomly started yelling at me! Women are too troublesome for me. I wouldn't do anything." Shikamaru crossed his arms.

"You're right. You're too much of a lazy-ass to do anything. Eh, maybe she's just PMS-ing. Well see ya later. Oh yeah, I don't wanna hear what happened between you and Temari in that elevator, so don't tell me." Kankuro closed the connected door.

"Nani?" 'Something happened yesterday.' Shikamaru thought for a couple of seconds. Then Shikamaru hit his forehead. 'Damn it. Yesterday in the elevator, something _did_ happen. No wonder Temari's all pissed at me.'

_Inner Shikamaru (IS): Nice job, dobe!_

_Shikamaru (S): WTH? Who are you?_

_IS: Sakura's not the only one with an inner-self to talk to. I'm your inner-self. I've always been with you, but you've never made an idiotic mistake until now. I'm here to help._

_S: How are **you** going to help me? If we share the same brain, then I would already know what to do. We would be thinking the same thing. There is no point of an inner-self._

_IS: Actually, I'm a part of your brain that **you** can't use. Weird huh? Well, it's true and I'm the part that's smart in the social and love department. I know everything you need to know when it comes to girls, especially Temari._

_S: Nani?_

_IS: This is what I am talking about. You have no idea what's in front of your very eyes. Temari's a girl that you have been friends with since you were 12. Why do you think she would ever spend time with you again after that? You were 12 and she was 15. You guys had barely anything in common. Are you getting what I'm saying?_

_S: Sadly, I don't._

_IS: Do I have to spell it out for you! Temari likes you, you dobe!_

_S: What! Where'd you get an idea like that?_

_IS: sigh I am saddened to call you my right brain. There are so many signs; so many that I won't even begin to explain (partly because he was too lazy. Remember, he was still part of Shikamaru.)_

_S: If you are right, then Temari likes me?_

_IS: Finally! Yes! Now get off your lazy-ass and knock on her door!_

_S: For a brain, you sure are bossy._

_IS: Did I forget to mention that I'm also the female part of your brain? I'm the more feminine side, if you didn't know._

_S: Are all you females this bossy?_

_IS: Nope! Just the ones around you! Now get your girl!_

_S: Troublesome brain._

_IS: I heard that!_

* * *

"Sakura?"

"Oh, hey, Naruto!" Sakura smiled.

"What are you doing here, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

'What am I doing here? Can't he see that I'm eating?' "I'm just eating some breakfast. Ino's still asleep and Temari's still stuck in the elevator. I don't even know what happened to Hinata and Tenten." Sakura sighed.

"Oh. Okay! I'm gonna go get some ramen!" Naruto said. He left to get his ramen.

Sakura nodded. 'Naruto…just a ramen-loving, Hokage-wannabe, who can always make a friend. Loving and protective to all his friends, yet he has no family to love him.' Sakura realized what she was saying. 'What am I saying? Am I crazy! It's Naruto for Kami's sake.'

"I'm back, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned.

Sakura just smiled. 'Sasuke never called me 'chan'. Sasuke's gone now. I shouldn't think about him. I might as well take a chance. Tsunade-shissou ('shissou' means teacher) did say to trust your instincts with boys.' "Hey, Naruto! Are you doing anything this afternoon?"

"Not yet. Why Sakura-chan?" Naruto looked confused. Sakura never asked if he was busy. She would just tell him what to do.

"I was just wondering if you'd wanna go on a walk, you know, to browse around the hotel and stuff. You wanna?" Sakura asked. She was a little nervous about how Naruto would answer. She never asked him anything like this.

"Sure, Sakura!" Naruto was clueless that this was almost a date. Naruto started to eat his ramen again.

'Whew. That was close.' Sakura wiped her forehead. 'What was I so worried about anyways. It's just a walk, right?'

* * *

Shikamaru stood up. He was about to knock on the bedroom door, but he heard a sound coming from inside. It was Temari. She was singing. Shikamaru could just barely hear.

"No one told me I was going to find you. Unexpected what you did to my heart..." Temari sang. She had a wonderful voice (Romi Paku, Temari's Seiyū, has a great voice!).

Shikamaru stayed and listened by putting his head to the door. He never moved from his spot listening to Temari sing song after song. All the songs were about relationships and love.

"Don't know how you feel. You seem to keep it to yourself…" Temari sang. "Why did I let you go? You're too good to be true. I messed it up. And now I don't know what to do…" She could go on forever singing songs.

'That felt good. I really overreacted this morning.' Temari thought. Then, out of nowhere, she stopped singing and opened the door. Shikamaru still had his head to the door and fell when it opened.

"Shikamaru?" Temari remembered that she was singing. "Shikamaru, what the hell were you doing!" Temari shouted.

"Nothing, nothing! I was just going to see if you were alright." Shikamaru sat up and rubbed his face. Falling on the ground hurts, a lot.

"Of course I'm alright. You know I can take care of myself. What, did it sound like I was screaming in pain or something? I didn't think I sang that badly." Temari had the 'puppy-eyed face' lip and arms crossed. She really didn't think she sang badly.

"No, no. You didn't sing badly. I was just, uh, it's nothing. Forget I said anything."

"With pleasure." Temari kneeled down to where Shikamaru was. Shikamaru was still on the ground, too lazy to stand up. "So what do you want? You were probably going to knock on the door, so, what is it?" Temari asked.

"I really don't know how to say this, but…uh…" Shikamaru didn't really know how to ask her his question. It was kind of awkward.

"Spit it out already!"

"Do you…like me?" Shikamaru sighed. He finally got it out.

'What did he just ask me?' "Of course I like you. I'm your friend. You're my friend. We're friends." Temari smiled. Then she saw Shikamaru's face which looked like a 'that's not what I meant' face.

"That's not what I meant." Shikamaru sighed again.

'So it was a 'that's what not what I meant' face. He wants to know if I like him, like him. Great. How am I supposed to answer that?' Temari sighed.

"Do you like me? I mean _like me_, like me?" Shikamaru asked again.

'How do I know exactly what he's thinking? How can I say that I've liked him since the day we fought in the Chuunin Exams? I can't, that's why! It could ruin our whole relationship. We'd be less than friends. It's not worth it.' Temari thought. "No, I don't." Temari said, barely audible.

Shikamaru and Temari could both tell that this was an awkward position for both of them. Who was going to break the silence? It's none other than…

"Wanna play cards?" Temari asked. She saw a deck of cards on the desk, near the couch.

"I'd rather play shogi." Shikamaru yawned.

"Well we don't have a shoji board and I don't wanna play shogi. You play too much of it. Let's play cards." Temari took out a small fan in her pocket, waved it, and used her chakra to move the deck into her hands. "Just you and me, poker."

Shikamaru smirked. "Deal."

* * *

"Hey Ino!" Chouji waved.

"Chouji…hey! What are…you…doing here?" Ino asked, breathing in between words. She was on the treadmill, jogging her normal mile everyday.

"I was just lifting some weights. I gotta get some training in, even on vacation. Are you training too?" Chouji asked.

"No, just trying to lose a little weight. You know how it is."

"You really should stop. You're already perfect and you still want to lose more weight. You can get yourself really sick like that." Chouji stated.

Ino stopped her treadmill, got a tile on the handle, and rubbed off her sweat. "Don't worry about me Chouji! I know when enough's enough." '_Inner Ino (II): Chouji looks hot today._' 'Did I just think that Chouji looked hot? I must be very dehydrated.' Ino took a free bottle of ice-cold water and drank the whole bottle. 'Much better.'

"Wow, you must be pretty thirsty. Did you eat breakfast yet?" Chouji asked.

"No, not yet. Why?" '_Hello! I think you know why! He wants to ask you to breakfast duh! You better say yes!_' 'Are you sure? Chouji's just a friend.' '_Hello! I'm your brain! I think I know what you're feeling and he's more than a friend; we both know that. Just say yes!_' Ino sighed. "You wanna eat breakfast together?"

"Sure!" Chouji responded. '_Yes! She said yes! You got her this time!_' 'That's what you said last time we ate a meal together, but nothing happened.' '_Well, this time for sure something's going to happen._' 'Whatever you say.'

_Ino and Chouji went to the cafeteria on floor 3._

(**A/N:** I don't know what you eat at breakfast, so I'll just type cereal.) Ino and Chouji got their cereal and sat down.

"I haven't seen you in a while back in Konoha." Chouji stated, trying to strike a conversation. It seemed to have worked.

"Yeah, well, the flower shop has been really busy recently with a lot of birthdays and weddings." '_And you wishing you could have a wedding with Chouji._' 'Shut up!' "What about you?"

"Well, I've been busy with training. My dad's been pushing me real hard lately. He wants me to get married soon. (**A/N:** Yes, he's only 19, but remember ninja went on many dangerous missions, able to die any day.)" '_You really **do** want to marry Ino!_' 'Shut up!'

"Your parents aren't going to arrange you to be married?" Ino asked.

"No. They said I should find someone on my own. I should live a happy life with someone I love." '_Well **that** wasn't obvious at all! You should just ask her already!_' 'No, it's not worth it.'

"Oh. Well, you wanna go walk later? We could look around the hotel and stuff. Maybe we could go outside to the shopping district!" '_That wasn't obvious at all, now was it? Just say you wanna go on a date with him already!_' 'Shut up! He probably already has a girlfriend already.' '_Then why did you ask him to walk with you?_' '…' '_Exactly._'

"Sure! Let's go around 2 o'clock, okay?" Chouji suggested.

"…Huh? Oh yeah, 2 o'clock. See you then!" Ino drank the rest of her milk in her bowl and left. "Bye, Chouji!" Ino waved.

"Bye Ino!" Chouji waved back, still sitting down. '_You really should ask. I've been telling you to ask her since you were 16. You know you wanna! You'll regret it if you don't. Someone's going to pick Ino up and take her away soon. You have to make sure it's you!_' 'I guess you're right. I'll tell her later.'

* * *

"Let's make this more interesting." Temari said, looking at her cards.

"What is it this time?" Shikamaru sighed.

"If I win, you have to do something for me, but if you win, I'll do something for you. Deal?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru sighed again. "Fine. Deal."

Temari smirked. Then she showed Shikamaru her hand (of cards). She had four-of-a-kind, four nines and a six. "Take that, crybaby."

"Hn." Shikamaru said. Then he showed his cards. "Hearts, royal flush. I win."

"What! I shuffled perfectly! Ugh…fine. You win. What do you want me to do?" Temari crossed her arms.

"Stop being so troublesome. You've changed a lot Temari and it's not for the better. Whatever happened last night wasn't that big of a deal. Get over it already. You're 22 and I'm 19." Shikamaru breathed for a moment. "I know you like me."

"Where the hell did you get an idea like that?" Temari wondered. She knew Shikamaru wouldn't be able to figure it out himself. She never told anyone her feelings, thought many villagers in Konoha assumed they were a couple already.

"I was thinking…" '…with myself' "and I remembered many times when we were younger. There were small clues that led me to my conclusion; too many to name." Shikamaru sighed. "I like you too."

"Wha…what did you say!" Temari wasn't sure if she heard correctly.

"Troublesome woman." He muttered, and then spoke clearly. "I said I like you too. There, happy?" Shikamaru looked straight at Temari.

"Hmm…not really. I like more hard-to-get guys." Temari sarcastically said and winked. Then, out of nowhere, she gave Shikamaru a big hug, arms around his neck. "But you know this is going to get more troublesome." Temari chuckled. She stood up and almost skipped to the door. She had to tell her friends, of course!

'_Some things are worth the trouble._' 'If you say so.' Shikamaru thought to himself.

* * *

**A/N:** Remember to REVIEW please! Most of the quoted italicized stuff was Inner-selves talking if you were confused. I loved doing an Inner Shikamaru! Woohoo! Inner Neji was cool too! Guys have inners too (LOL. That sounded weird.), and geniuses have the coolest inners! There were only 12 pages in this chapter, so lucky you, less to read! Next update should be next Sunday probably.

**Chapter Songs:** When Shikamaru was eavesdropping on Temari, she sang, At the Beginning - Donna Lewis and Richard Marx, In A Second - Aly & A.J., and Collapsed - Aly & A.J., in that order.

**Title Song:** Confessions Pt. 2 - Usher, Something More - Aly & A.J. and Always On My Mind - One Voice are the songs this chapter. I decided to keep Something More because it wasn't really finished and it still fit in this chapter. Always On My Mind is a song about thinking about that special someone all the time and doing anything for him/her. I put in Confessions Pt. 2 because there are still confessions being confessed! Common sense, really. Yes, Confessions Pt. 2 is a song!


	7. Day 2&3 Collapsed

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto, so don't ask. You'll get me all emo, like Sasuke, which sucks.**

**A/N:** I decided not to do the make-out scene. Too lazy to try and write it. Oh yeah, and if you didn't know what Kami was, it's like God. That's why they for saying, 'For Kami's sake.' Also, it may be confusing to people like myself to know what day on their vacation it is, so I'll try to keep everyone on the same day.

This chapter is very confusing because Tenten and Neji are written a day before everyone else, so they're doubled in this chapter!

**Published October 8, 2006**

**Chapter 7 - Collapsed**

_(From now on, italicized words in '' marks are Inner-self characters. Example: 'I'm Inner Sakura! Cha!')_

_Yesterday morning, 8:29 A.M, in room 1000, Neji and Tenten's room._

'Was I dreaming?' Neji asked himself. _'Nope. Yesterday really happened; that's why you're sleeping on the sofa.'_ 'Yes, now I remember. I wanted to go to sleep, but didn't want to bother Tenten, so I fell asleep on the sofa.'

The bedroom door opened. "Oh, Neji, you're awake! Good morning! Sorry you had to sleep on the couch yesterday. I fell asleep." Tenten said.

"Good morning. It's okay. What are you doing?" Neji asked, looking at Tenten. She looked like she was going out.

"I was going to eat some breakfast; then find Hinata, Ino, Sakura, and Temari. You want to eat breakfast with me?" _'You flirt!'_ 'I'm just being nice!'

"Hn." Neji nodded. He got up from the sofa, quickly washed up, and went to the cafeteria with Tenten.

They took the elevator down to the third floor and went into the cafeteria. (**A/N:** They shall eat cereal like everyone else! Mwahaha!) Neji and Tenten ate their delicious cereal. It was silent, except for crunches of cereal and other guests chatting.

Tenten decided to start a conversation. "So, Neji…ummm…"

"Do you remember last night?" Neji asked flatly. He thought Tenten was trying to talk about last night as well. This would be easier for the both of them.

"Um…yeah, I do." Tenten felt awkward. "It's kind of strange though, you know, yesterday. I'm not really sure if what happened actually happened."

"Yeah. I don't remember too well either." _'Liar. You remember it all. It was all real!'_ "I take that back. I remember it all. You asked a question yesterday night. I answered yes."

'He does remember!' "Yeah, that's what happened. So, do you know what that means?"

"Things like this aren't familiar to me." Neji was a little embarrassed to not know this kind of stuff.

"Well, you said you wanted to be my boyfriend and that I was your girlfriend. This is a very special relationship. I've never had a boyfriend before, and I'm sure you've never had a girlfriend." Tenten defined.

"You sound like you're stalling. I already know all that." Neji stated.

"Here." Tenten took out a small book from her pocket, about the size of a cell phone. She was prepared for this moment if Neji ever asked. "This book will tell you all about what girlfriends and boyfriends do. There's a lot of info in there."

"Have you read it already?" Neji started to read the book, quickly, the genius he was.

"I've skimmed it." _'Liar! You read it like 100 times and couldn't stop rereading it! You memorized the whole book to the punctuation!'_ 'Shut up!' Tenten finished all her leftover milk in her bowl and took Neji's already finished bowl.

Neji stopped Tenten before she could stand up. "I'll take the bowls. You can go." He already skimmed through the beginning chapters, etiquette.

"I guess you didn't read the girl's party. I'll wait for you." Tenten giggled a little. 'He's actually reading it!'

Neji put away the dishes and the couple walked toward the elevator. "The beginning chapters are on etiquette. Etiquette in dating is to be a gentleman. I already know what to do. I learned it when I was younger." Neji opened up the book and started to read more chapters. It was amazing he could read such small print.

* * *

_Yesterday at 1:22 P.M._

Temari left her room and was about to tell her friends about Shikamaru. Then she stopped and put her back against her room door. 'I can't tell them about Shikamaru. They _are_ my friends, but…I just can't. Things might change, maybe for the worse.'

Temari slid down and was sitting, back still on the wall. 'I don't want things to change. They're my friends, but they wouldn't understand. They'd just get in the way.'

Temari wasn't the type to share her feelings, even to her closest friends. She wasn't even sure Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and Hinata were really her best friends. They seemed like they were sisters separated at birth, but it was only because Temari was smart enough to know how they acted and copied them. It was a technique she used many times to many people. Temari would question herself on her true friends. 'My life is sad. I don't even have a true friend. There's always Shikamaru though.'

Temari got up from thinking and decided to search around the hotel to do something. She took the elevator up and down many random floors. She saw Sakura, Naruto, Chouji, and Ino around the hotel, not together though. She didn't bother to say hi. Temari browsed around the hotel for what seemed like centuries, which was actually two hours. It was a pretty big hotel. She could memorize this hotel inside and out perfectly by that time, but she was distracted by thoughts in her head. 'They are my friends, yet they aren't. They know me, yet they don't know anything about me. Have I been living a lie; or just doing what's for the best?' Temari sighed out loud. 'This is a time where I must say…this is troublesome.'

* * *

_Today, on the first floor/lobby, there's a room with brochures and pamphlets for tourists to see and read. There were also sofas, big chairs, and coffee tables. Sakura was sitting on one of the chairs, staring off into space. Time: 1:23 P.M._

"Hey Tenten!" Sakura smiled. "What are you so happy about?"

"I'm glad I found you! I got great news!" Tenten cheered. She breathed for a couple of seconds to calm down from her excitement. "Two nights ago…Neji…well…he…I…"

"Spit it out already!" Sakura was in anticipation.

"Neji kissed me!" Tenten blurted out. Then she smiled, reminiscing the night.

"That's it? That's nothing. It was obvious you two were going to end up together. You always flirt around him and wear your low-cut shirts and short skirts. It was bound to happen sometime." Sakura pointed out as if it were totally obvious.

"Really?" Tenten put a finger on her chin and thought. "I _guess_ you're right. But still, it's pretty exciting now that it's 'official'." Tenten made quotation marks with her fingers when she said official. "Oh yeah! Yesterday he ate breakfast _and_ lunch with me. He was reading a book I gave him about couples. You know…dos and don'ts. He is so much sweeter once he knows what he's doing and what he's supposed to do."

"Did you tell anyone else yet?" Sakura asked, trying to get in a conversation.

"Nope. You were the first one I saw. I'll tell Hinata and Ino when I see them."

"M'kay." Sakura looked at the clock. '1:26. Hmm…' "I have to go now, Tenten! I'm going on a walk around the hotel with Naruto."

"Since when did you start planning walks with Naruto? Are you guys going out already? You didn't tell me? Sakura!" Tenten joked and laughed. She loved asking so many questions quickly before Sakura could answer. "Seriously though, did you ask him on a date yet?"

"Why?" Sakura was confused. _'You know why! You like him. Nice job, Sakura. You made it so obvious to everyone!'_ 'No I didn't! You're me too you know! I don't like him.' _'I'm not the one who does the actions. Don't lie. I'm your inner-self, you know, the one that knows your feelings. I know what I'm talking about here! Just tell Tenten already!'_ "Not yet. I wasn't even sure if I really liked him. I guess I do. Is it really that obvious?"

"No. I just know love when I see it." Tenten smiled. Then she got an idea. "You should go ask him on a date. Then we could double!"

Sakura grinned. "That would be nice to double. I guess I'll ask him today. I'm still not sure if I really should though."

"Think about it. Other than Rock Lee, Naruto is the one guy who would do anything for you. He's always liked you and has always been very close to you."

"Then why shouldn't I go out with Lee? He'd _die_ for me."

Tenten started to whisper and cupped her hand to the side of her mouth so no one could read her lips. "Well, don't tell anyone I said this but…I saw Lee with this girl a couple months ago. She had brown eyes, long purple hair, she was about two inches shorter than Lee, a year younger than Lee, and seemed to laugh and smile a lot. She's a Chuunin. I went on a mission with her once. She's really nice. They look great together."

Sakura looked slightly disappointed. "Oh..." She thought Lee was still flirting with her. "What's her name?"

"Umeko Matsu." Tenten giggled. "What a coincidence that your name means Cherry Blossom and her name means Plum Blossom." (**A/N:** Umeko's bio at immortalfrend704. deviantart. com) Sakura giggled, but sounded fake. "Well, I guess I have to go now. Bye, Tenten! See you later!"

"Bye Sakura!" Tenten waved as Sakura turned a corner and was out of sight. 'Interesting. It almost seemed like Sakura was sad that Lee had a girlfriend.' _'Well of course she's sad! Why wouldn't she be! One out of the two guys that love her and would do anything for her has a girlfriend! I'd be sad too!'_ 'Well sorry!' Tenten said to her inner-self sarcastically. 'Did you notice that Lee likes girls with 'unique' hair colors?' _'Yeah. That's what makes Lee, Lee.'_

* * *

'What the…?' Shikamaru sighed. 'How troublesome.' _'Don't say that. You know you wanted something like this.' _His inner-self snickered. 'Whatever.' It was too troublesome for Shikamaru to argue with himself. 

Temari had slept-walk yet again. Again, she ended up in Shikamaru's bed. One hand was behind part of her head, as a pillow. Her head and other hand were on Shikamaru's chest. She looked calm and peaceful, totally different from her usual fierce and fiery self.

'Troublesome woman.' _'**Smart** troublesome woman. She knew she would sleepwalk and that she would end up in your bed. Devious; she's a keeper; I approve!'_ 'Sometimes I wonder if you're really my brain…' _'Me too. You can be so naïve sometimes.'_ 'Very funny.' Shikamaru thought sarcastically. 'I can't sleep like this.' Shikamaru decided to push Temari off himself. Unfortunately, Shikamaru pushed too hard and Temari ended up falling on the floor.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" Temari shouted.

"Uh…oops?"

"You're gonna pay, Shikamaru!" Temari shouted again. She took out a medium-sized metal fan, different from her usual fan, which she brought along on the trip, and bonked Shikamaru on the head. Shikamaru was knocked out, unconscious. "Never wake me up when I'm having a good dream, baka." Temari muttered. She put her fan away and decided to wash up and eat something.

* * *

"Chouji! Over here!" Ino waved to get Chouji's attention. 

Chouji ran over to Ino. "Hey, Ino! So where are we going?"

"I thought we could walk around the activity floors, and then go to the garden. I read that they have very beautiful flowers. Does that sound good?" Ino suggested.

"Yeah, sure."

"Great! Let's get to the elevator."

They went to several different floors. One floor was like a mini-mall, one was like a farmer's market, another was a sports arena, etc. Then they ended up at the garden in the back of the hotel. There were many rows of different flowers, divided by age, all in a garden. The flowers somehow fit together, blending one flower hue to another.

Ino walked into a row with a sign reading, 'You may pick the flowers in this row.' "Wow…these are very well-grown flowers. They seem to be at the perfect age to pick." Ino decided to pick a red rose, grown to its fullest. Ino estimated its petals would start falling two days from now. "You remember what a red rose means, right, Chouji?" Ino sniffed the rose deeply.

"It means love, right?" Chouji scratched the back of his head. It was a little awkward to talk about love with a girl, especially a flirter like Ino.

"Yeah. You remembered." Ino smiled sincerely. "I remember when we were 16, us Rookie Nine, Team Gai, and Team Sand had a party. It was at the Subaku no's huge mansion." Ino let out a happy sigh, and then she giggled. "I remember you, Kiba, and Kankuro each gave me a red rose. You didn't even plan it either, being the great friends you are."

"Yeah, what a coincidence, huh?" Chouji scratched the back of his head again. 'Does she know that we all liked Ino, and coincidently chose to make a move at the same time?'

"Anyways, it was just a fun memory." Ino giggled again. "I wonder if Shikamaru asked Temari out yet. That's when Temari started to seriously flirt with Shikamaru."

"I don't think so. I know Shikamaru and he wouldn't want to go on a date. Temari will probably somehow get Shikamaru to do it though. She can be scary sometimes." Chouji tried to make a joke. Then Ino and Chouji walked over to a nearby bench and looked at various flowers.

Ino got the joke. She giggled again. "Yeah, Temari is very, uh, persuasive, I guess." Ino thought of another memory and giggled yet again. "I remember Temari went out with Shikamaru and me on a double-blind-date. She's very persuasive indeed." Soon after talking more about memories, there was silence.

"So…" Ino tried to get a conversation going. "…how's your girlfriend?" she asked, regretting it right after.

"Huh? Girlfriend?" Chouji asked. "I haven't had a girlfriend in a while. My last girlfriend was a year ago."

"Really? Oh…I would think being the great guy you are you'd have hundreds of fangirls all over you." 'He really doesn't have a girlfriend?' _'Now's your chance to ask him out! You better take it now, before it's too late!'_ 'I think you're right.'

"There are fangirls, but none that would be my girlfriend. They're not my type. How about you and your boyfriend? You've probably gone through a million by now." Chouji started to laugh.

"I don't change boyfriends that much…Well, okay, I'm pretty bad when it comes to long relationships, but recently, I haven't had a boyfriend. Haven't had one in…3 months. I don't plan on having another one soon. Most guys don't care about my personality. It's hard to find the perfect man." Ino sighed. "I've dated enough guys to know if he's the right one for me." _'Chouji's the right one, so ask him now before it's too late! Ask now! If you don't, I'll have to take drastic measures!'_ 'Like what?' Ino challenged herself. _'I'm your brain; use your imagination.'_ 'Be that way.' "Hey, Chouji?"

"Yeah, Ino?"

"Would you…umm…well…would you…" _'Spit it out already!'_ "Would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight? You know, like, on a date?"

"Really? You want to go out on a date with me?" Chouji was ecstatic.

"Yeah, you know, we've been best friends for a really long time. We know each other inside and out. We might as well try, right?" Ino didn't want to sound too forward.

"Yeah, okay. So whe-" Chouji stopped from finishing his sentence when he saw Sakura and Naruto walking through the garden. "Is that Naruto and Sakura?"

"What?" Ino got a better look at the two. "Oh my gosh, it is! Are they, are they holding hands?" Ino paused for a moment to see more. "They're blushing like crazy."

"Wow. Who would have thought?" Chouji was in shock.

"You're telling me." Ino agreed.

* * *

"Glad to see your not dead, genius." Temari said sarcastically. She was drinking soda and watching TV. 

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru lazily said, rubbing the top of his, now bruised, head. "Why'd you have to hit me with your fan?"

"You're the one who pushed me off my bed!"

"Your bed? You were on my bed, troublesome woman. I just pushed you off so I could breathe!"

"I was in _your_ bed?" Temari put her index finger on her lip, pretending to think. Then she grinned. "Oops." She was being sarcastic.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru went to the couch and plopped down next to Temari.

"Humph…" Temari crossed her arms. Then after 30 seconds, she stood up. "I'm going to the gym." She stated.

"Why?" Right after asking, Shikamaru regret asking that question.

"I still need to train, you know. I can't just slack off. We're still shinobi." Temari stated as-a-matter-of-factly like Shikamaru was stupid.

"I was just asking. I didn't need an answer. It was rhetorical." Shikamaru stated back.

"Whatever."

"Hn."

"Humph. Crybaby."

"Troublesome woman."

"Genius."

"Fangirl."

Temari started laughed slightly. Then she rethought it in her head and laughed harder. "Which definition of fangirl do you mean? I'm a girl who's obsessed and chases you, or a girl who has a big-ass fan that can kick your ass?" Temari said while laughing at the same time.

Shikamaru could just barely make out what she just said. "Both."

Temari slowly started to get herself centered again. "You really are a genius." She put her hands on her hips. "Well, see ya!"

"Hn."

* * *

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved his hands in the air like he was directing an aircraft. 

'Same old Naruto.' "Hey Naruto!" Sakura waved, not as energetically, back to Naruto.

"What took you so long, Sakura-chan?"

"Sorry, I lost track of time. I was talking to Tenten."

"No problem, Sakura. So, where are we going to go?"

"Let's just browse around the whole hotel. I was looking out the window in Temari's room when we had our dinner meeting two nights ago. I saw a beautiful garden. It had arches and many rows and columns. I looked at the map this morning and I saw that it was open today. We have to see that! It looked so romantic."

"Whatever you want, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned.

"Thanks, Naruto!" Sakura smiled.

The two ninjas went to all the levels that weren't rooms. They were amazed at how many different activities there were in one hotel.

'No wonder this hotel is best in Japan.' Sakura thought as they were walking.

More walking, yada, yada. Not very important. Now they take the elevator to the garden.

"Wow! It's even prettier in-person." Sakura spoke.

"Yeah! It's wonderful!" Naruto added.

Sakura went into an aisle and giggled at the sight of a cherry blossom perfectly bloomed. Then she saw in her sight, a plum blossom. 'Umeko Matsu.' Sakura thought. 'I hope you're happy Lee.' Sakura said genuinely, not angrily or sadly, just genuinely.

"Hey, Naruto! Come over here!" Sakura shouted out to Naruto who was picking a flower.

"Here, Sakura-chan!" Naruto gave Sakura a pink rose. "I remember I wanted to give you a pink rose for your hair. Ino told me that pink roses mean 'perfect happiness'. I wish you perfect happiness Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned widely.

"Here." Sakura picked out an orange blossom next to the cherry and plum blossom. "I know you like orange a lot. An orange blossom means eternal love." Sakura smiled and saw Naruto smile back. Sakura took Naruto's free hand and held it in her free hand. 'What are you doing?' _'I'm making a move. You have to be aggressive. Naruto is blind when it comes to flirting. I'm just helping you. You should be thanking me!'_ 'Oka- Oh my gosh! Is that who I think it is sitting on the bench!' _'It's Ino! Oh my gosh! **I'm** not even sure if this is good or bad.'_ 'If you're not sure, I'm definitely not sure! Wait, I've got an idea.' Sakura had a plan. "Hey, Naruto, wanna have some fun?"

"Sure."

"Come on!" Sakura took Naruto by the hand and ran through some of the columns of flowers. She didn't know that she was holding Naruto's hand. It was her subconscious mind that had her grab his hand. Her subconscious was controlled by her inner-self.

'Sakura-chan's holding my hand, dattebeyo!' Naruto grinned. 'I guess Jiraiya's books are of good use after all!' Before he knew it, Sakura suddenly stopped, which made Naruto bump into Sakura.

"Why'd you st-" Naruto couldn't finish his sentence. Sakura put her hand over Naruto's mouth and jumped under a bush. When Sakura took her hand off Naruto's mouth, he started to speak. "What are yo-"

"Shhh!" Sakura pointed to the person a couple of feet from their bush. "Ino and Chouji are right there."

"So what?" Naruto asked. He didn't think there was anything wrong going on.

"Well…uh…" 'Naruto's right. So what? Ino and I are friends, somewhat. Sometimes I forget we're best friends. Yeah, so what? It doesn't matter that I'm with Naruto!' "Let's go, Naruto." Naruto didn't really have a choice. Sakura took Naruto's wrist and they jumped out of the bush.

"Sup, Chouji! Sup, Ino!" Naruto waved and grinned.

"Hey, Ino! Hey, Chouji!" Sakura also waved.

"Hey you two." Ino and Chouji replied at the same time.

"I thought I saw you two walking together. Are you two on a date?" Ino asked.

"N-" Naruto was about to say no, but Sakura interrupted. "Yeah, we are. Well it's kind of a short date. What about you two?"

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto quietly said, confused.

"Oh we're not on a date. We're just looking around. But we are going out to dinner, as a date. You guys want to double?" Ino asked, wanting the answer to be 'yes'.

"Umm…Naruto? You okay with a double?" Sakura asked.

"Sure!"

* * *

_Temari spent about an hour in the gym, playing tennis with herself, pilates, lifting weights, some treadmill jogging, yoga, and lots of other stuff. She was working out hard._

"Huh?" Temari stared at the figure in front of her while drinking some water. "What are you doing here?"

"I was bored. Looks like you didn't do anything."

"What! I spent an hour doing random sports and exercises. It's definitely not taijutsu, but it's better than you. You haven't done anything at all."

Unless you call, coming down her to see me, training."

"I do."

"That's what I thought. So, do you have any energy left to play a little one-on-one?"

"Basketball?"

"Yup. Of course, you may have gotten taller, but, I'll still beat you." Temari smirked.

"We'll see about that."

"You're going down, Shikamaru."

* * *

**A/N:** In the beginning, Temari was a bit OOC, but it was the only way to fit what I wanted into the story. Continuation is in the next chapter. Next chapter will be out next week, no sooner! 

**Song:** Sadly, it's another Aly & A.J. song. It just happens to coincidently fit. The song's Collapsed by Aly & A.J. Collapsed is a song about having someone who'd always be by your side, but you never knew until it was too late and you separated. Then not letting anyone else have your love, and being confused about who'll be the right one. At least, that's what I think.


	8. Day 1&2 Faint

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Naruto. I don't even know Masashi Kishimoto. If I did, I would be able to die truly happy.**

**A/N: **I should have named the last chapters Confessions and Confessions Pt. 2, so I edited the title and Songs note at the bottom, in chapters 5 and 6! Oh well, bear with me. **WARNING:** This is probably the worst chapter of my story. It's very random.

**Published October 15, 2006**

**Chapter 8 - Faint**

_Hinata, Kiba, Rock Lee, and Kankuro haven't been in the story for a while. I decided to have their story about what was going on in the past 2 days._

_Day 1, the night when Temari and Shikamaru got drunk and the girls had to cancel their sleepover. Hinata goes into her room, 1004._

"Oh, Kiba. I didn't know you were still awake." Hinata said after trying to not wake up Kiba. _'Stop lying! You knew he was awake!'_

"Hey, Hinata!" Four voices greeted. Kiba waved. He wasn't the only one who waved though. Kiba thought that since the girls were having a sleepover, the guys should have a guys-night-in. Kiba was sitting on the couch with his hands covering two cards on the coffee table. Rock Lee, Kankuro, and Chouji were there as well.

"Hi, Lee. Chouji. Kankuro." Hinata bowed her head a little after she said each name.

"We're playing Texas Hold'em (poker)." Kiba said, not facing Hinata. He was in his zone whenever he gambled. "You wanna play with us? You still remember how to play, right?"

"Y-Yeah, sure. I'll play." Hinata said slyly. She sounded more like Temari than herself. She walked over to the four guys and sat on the couch, next to Kiba.

"Let's start over. I had crappy cards anyways." Kiba took everyone's cards and gave them to Rock Lee to shuffle.

"Awww, but I had double aces!" Kankuro whined.

"Awww, poor you. Oh well." Kiba said sarcastically.

"Why isn't Neji playing?" Hinata asked, not seeing Neji around.

"He didn't want to. He'd rather watch the news. He probably knows I'll beat him." Kiba grinned.

"Actually, he's very good at poker. He has many poker trophies and travels to national tournaments in his free time." Hinata stated. "He would've won, if he didn't have so many missions to oblige to." Hinata defended Neji. Then Hinata giggled. "But he probably won because he has his Byukagan helping him."

Less than a second later, Lee had a notepad and pencil out and wrote some notes. "Neji has Byukagan to help him win at Texas Hold'em Poker." Lee wrote and said out loud.

Hinata couldn't help but giggle a little. Everyone else laughed out loud.

The Lee put his notepad and pencil away. He passed out two cards to each person and divided the poker chips evenly.

"Whose chips are these?" Hinata asked, holding up a red chip.

"They were downstairs in the arcade. The cards were next to the TV. We're playing standard. $500 each; $2 ante (how much you have to bet). White, $1, red, $5, blue, $10, green, $25, and black, $100."

"We were betting before, but since you're here we do-" Chouji was cut off by Hinata.

"No, that's fine. How much? $100 each?" Hinata was searching through her pocket for some money.

"No, only $20 this time. You can't use the Byukagan." Kiba ruled.

"Don't worry. I won't need it." Hinata said, almost pounding a $20 bill on the table.

_Hinata had been playing poker since she became a genin. Kiba and Shino said they were 'pros'; compared to Hinata back then, they were. Hinata never used her Byukagan when playing, but since she won so many times, Kiba blamed her Byukagan for cheating. It was all fun and games though, until Hinata became a Chuunin. She started to get rougher and aggressive in poker. Hinata started to gamble money with Kiba and Shino. She usually won, sometimes Shino would win, but Kiba never won. How could he? He had two smart almost-pros against him. Team 8 started to play with Team Gai. Neji and Hinata would always win because they were smart, not because they had their Byukagan. Tenten won sometimes. She was good at bluffing. Lee always lost because you could tell if his cards were good or bad. Hinata went into an addiction stage and played poker with the Sand Siblings. Amazingly, she beat them most of the time. Even more amazing, was that Gaara didn't kill her! (Just a joke!) Her teammates thought she was going a bit far with all this gambling, so they asked her to stop. She did, of course, and hasn't played much since; just some small games with Neji and her dad when they weren't training. Now she was back with her past-time love._

(**A/N:** I'm sorry if you don't know how to play Texas Hold'em. It's a little too long to explain what everyone's doing, but I don't think it'll matter.)

"Check." tap tap (tapping the table means the same thing as 'check'.) "Check." "Check." Each boy said or actioned, one after another.

"50." Hinata said swiftly. She put two green chips next to a pile of white chips in the middle of the table. The pile of chips was the poker pot; like a jackpot for those who don't know.

The other boys were making scared faces and thinking the same thoughts. 'Looks like we've lost already.' 'We shouldn't have let her play.' 'Wow, she's good.' 'Might at well give up.' They started to get anime water droplets on their heads.

"I fold." "Fold." "Me too." "I fold as well." Each boy said, again, one after another. Lee pushed to pot to Hinata for her to take.

"Come on you guys! Take a chance! Maybe I was bluffing!" Hinata smiled, trying to get the boys to call her bets. (Calling means putting the same amount as the person betting to play.) She definitely sounded OOC and more like Temari every second.

'Ugh…she reminds me of Temari.' Kankuro sighed at his thought.

"Let us go in a clockwise position. Chouji, you are dealer." Lee handed Chouji the cards and a white poker chip that said 'dealer'.

Chouji shuffled and passed out the cards. He still didn't know that Hinata was an avid poker pro. He just happened to have really bad cards the last hand, a two of hearts and seven of clubs.

"So Hinata…" Chouji tried to make a conversation. "How long have you been playing?"

"Umm…Kiba, you didn't tell him?" Hinata avoided answering.

"Not yet. Chouji…uh…Hinata's kind of a professional poker player." Kiba scratched the back of his head. "She's been playing for about…7 years now. She was very addicted, but Shino and I told her to stop for her own good, you know, so she wouldn't go crazy."

"I just asked you to tell him I played poker, not that I was an addict!" Hinata was slightly angry and raised her voice, if that was possible.

"S-Sorry, Hinata!" Kiba had another anime water drop on his head.

"Let's just get back to the game." Hinata had her eyes closed. She was kind of pissed off. Then she looked at her cards.

"Bet $2." Kankuro said, putting two white chips in the pot.

"I call." Kiba said next and put two white chips in the center.

"I raise $20." Hinata said, putting her chips into the middle.

"I fold." Lee said. "I fold too." Chouji sighed. "Me too." Kankuro sighed.

"I call!" Kiba challenged Hinata.

"You'll regret doing that, Kiba-kun." Hinata said as Chouji turned over the three cards of five cards in front of the two players.

"Eight of hearts, nine of spades, six of diamonds." Chouji said out loud.

"You're going down." Kiba grinned. "I bet 10." He put his chips in the middle pile.

"I call." Hinata put the same amount in the center.

Chouji flipped the next card. "Six of spades." Chouji said.

Kiba tapped the table.

There was silence for about 10 seconds. "All in." Hinata said, as if it were a simple bet.

"What! But it's only the second hand!" Kiba shouted.

"I know that." Hinata sounded very emo, like Sasuke or Gaara or even Neji.

There was more silence. "Uhh…Kiba, do you call?" Chouji asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm thinking!" Kiba shouted. He put his hand in a thinking position on his chin. "Hmmm…you could be bluffing. You _do_ bluff a lot. But maybe you're not bluffing and you really do have a seven, ten, or both."

"You always think your best when you're gambling." Hinata smiled. She was so OOC! She didn't stutter at all. She was a serious player.

"I call!" Kiba challenged. He was ready for anything. He smirked.

"Are you sure, Kiba? If you lose, she gets all your chips and you're out. If she loses, she's still in the game. Are you sure you're making a smart choice?" Kankuro asked persuading Kiba to fold.

"I'm sure. I know Hinata best." Kiba smirked at Hinata.

Chouji sighed while saying, "Okay…show your cards." The two players flipped their cards over. Kiba had jack of spades and four of spades. Hinata had seven of spades and ten of diamonds.

Everyone gasped, well not really, at Hinata and Kiba's cards. 'Hinata won.' 'So long, Kiba.' The others thought.

Chouji shook his head to focus again. He flipped the last card over. "Ten…of spades."

"Yahoo! What did I say! Oh yeah! I won! Yahoo!" Kiba threw his hands in the air and cheered. Then he started dancing.

"Does this always happen?" Chouji asked.

"I think. It's the first time he's won, so it's the first time he's done this." Hinata chucked a little at what she just said. Then she sighed at the embarrassing dances Kiba was doing.

"Umm…Kiba." Rock Lee started.

"Huh?" Kiba stopped dancing to listen to Lee.

"You do know that Hinata is still in the game, do you not?" Lee talking like his Rock Lee-like self.

"Oh, I know." Kiba smirked again. Character can be so OOC when they're playing poker. Kiba sat back down on the couch.

"You're dealing next, Kankuro." Chouji gave the deck of cards and the 'dealer' chip to Kankuro.

"So…what do you think is going on with Temari and Shikamaru?" Kankuro asked everyone while shuffling the cards.

"They're probably both still sleeping, drunk." Kiba said like it was obvious. "They probably got kicked out of the restaurant, and even then, they're still sleeping!"

"Okay…"

"They're stuck in the elevator, if you really want to know." Hinata said bluntly.

"Then why do we not get them out of there?" Rock Lee asked.

"They can last one night alone together in an elevator. They're going to be sleeping in the same room with each other for a whole week anyways." Kiba butt in. "Now pass out the cards already!"

"Yeah, yeah." Kankuro passed out the cards. "No need to be so hasty. You know you're going to lose anyways. Hinata's going to beat all of us, and you know it!"

"tap tap" Kiba tapped the table.

It was Hinata's turn now. "Hmm…So if you guys really think I'll win, then…all-in. (all-in means putting all your chips into bet)" Hinata said 'all-in' rather quickly like it was nothing special, but it was. If she lost, she would lose and Kiba would maybe win.

The other boys sighed. Hinata didn't have a lot of chips left, but they knew this was just the beginning of her poker rampage.

"I would like to fold." Rock Lee said, sliding his cards to Kankuro. "I fold too." Chouji sighed. "Yeah, me too." Kankuro put Chouji's and his cards with Kankuro's.

"I call." Kiba grinned and put in the same amount of chips as Hinata.

"How predictable." Kankuro sighed. It was obvious Kiba was going to call, with all his chips, why shouldn't he? "Show your cards." Kiba had a jack of spades and queen of spades. Hinata had ace of spades and king of hearts.

Kankuro took three cards from the deck and flipped them over, one by one. "Jack of hearts, jack of diamonds, queen of hearts." Kankuro was stunned. "Wow."

"Yeah, wow." Chouji was also frozen at the cards.

"That is a very good hand, Kiba. There is a very good chance that you will win!" Rock Lee pointed out the obvious.

"But there is a chance I'll lose. Isn't that right, Hinata?" Kiba turned to Hinata.

"Let's just see what happens." Hinata looked devilish. She knew she still had a chance to win this.

Kankuro turned the next card. "Ace of hearts." Kankuro sighed. 'Hinata will win again.'

"What do you say now, Hinata?" Kiba asked.

"You could still win. There's a big chance 'the river' (another name for the last card the dealer flips over) isn't a ten of hearts." Hinata spoke as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Hn." Kiba chuckled.

"You sound like Neji." Hinata giggled.

Kankuro turned over the last card, the river. The card was turned over so slowly, it felt like many minutes had passed before they saw it. "Ten of hearts."

There was a big sigh from Kankuro, Chouji, and Rock Lee.

"How predictable." Kiba sounded like he knew this was going to happen.

"I didn't know. How did you?" Hinata asked. She really didn't know that the river was going to be a ten of hearts.

"I just knew. It's predictable after losing to you for so many years."

_Hinata won every game after that. In the next game, Rock Lee lost because he went all-in after seeing Hinata taking a big risk. Second place was Kankuro, third was Kiba, and fourth was Chouji. So Hinata won $100, actually $80 if you don't count the money she bet in._

"I guess I'm getting you guys a meal." Hinata smiled.

"_A_ meal? You should buy us food for the whole day!" Kiba said playfully.

"W-Well, it's g-getting late. I'm g-going to s-sleep now. G-Good night minna (everyone)!" Hinata said, back to her stuttering self.

"Hinata's kind of weird." Chouji scratched his head.

"I think she just has different personalities for different situations." Kankuro assumed.

"Yeah, she's a little weird, but that's what makes Hinata, Hinata!" Kiba concluded.

Rock Lee didn't say anything. He was crying (anime-funny-chibi crying) because he lost the game so quickly.

* * *

_The next day, day 2, when Kankuro heard Temari shouting at Shikamaru._

'Temari can be such a pain sometimes. At least she chose Shikamaru instead of someone just as loud as her…like Naruto. Ugh…creepy.' Kankuro shivered at the thought. 'I guess I mine as well stay awake. Temari will probably scream again later anyways.' Kankuro walked to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, took a quick shower, changed his clothes, put on his 'face-paint', and left to find someone to hang out with.

"Hey, Kankuro!" Kiba waved. He was outside sitting his room's door.

"Why are you sitting out here?" Kankuro asked. 'Maybe Hinata kicked him out.' He chuckled at the thought.

"Hinata kicked me out." Kiba said, just a bit angry. Not a lot though because he's Kiba!

"Why? What did you do?" Kankuro teased, pretending to assume that Kiba did something wrong.

"Nothing like that. She said she had to do stuff. I have no idea what the hell she's talking about. What do you have to do so early in the morning that you have to kick your roommate out? She kicked me out at six o'clock this morning and it's almost ten! I already walked through the whole hotel!" Kiba whined.

"Tough luck. I just got woken up by Temari." Kankuro yawned.

"Yeah, I could hear it from here. Whatever Shikamaru did must've been pretty bad."

"Yeah…probably."

"Yup."

"Yeah…so I'm hungry. Wanna go get something from the cafeteria? We can get Chouji to come too." Kankuro asked.

"Sure. Chouji's probably already down there. I saw him leave an hour ago to browse the place." Kiba stood up. "Let's go."

The two boys took the elevator down to level 3 and stepped inside the cafeteria.

"What do you usually eat for breakfast?" Kiba asked.

Kankuro scratched his head. "I'm not sure."

"How are you not sure?" Kiba asked. 'How could you not be sure what you have for breakfast?'

"Well, Temari usually makes breakfast. I have no idea what the hell she makes. Sometimes it's burnt and crispy but sometimes it's soft and mushy. Weird thing is that she says it's always the same thing. Somehow she's gotten us to eat the same thing every single day for years. I used to ask her what it was, but she never answered. She just said to eat it. I stopped asking after I knew she would never answer."

"Hmmm…well that's interesting to know. I should go to your house sometime. Maybe I'll be able to figure out what Temari's breakfast is." Kiba looked for something good that Kankuro might like to eat. 'Cereal's always good!' (I'm not obsessed with cereal!)

"So, what are you eating?" Kankuro asked in wonder.

"I'm just getting cereal. You can have cereal too."

"Okay."

The two walked to get some cereal and milk. Then they had another conversation.

"What kind of milk do you like?" Kiba asked.

"I don't know. I'll drink any kind."

"I like 1 low-fat milk. It has fat, but not too much, just enough to give it flavor."

"Okay…" Kankuro had an anime droplet on his head. "That's good to know, I guess. I guess I'll get whatever you get."

They both got honey-nut cheerios and Kiba was saying how honey-nut cheerios are healthy, yet have a tasty flavor while walking to a table.

"See why honey-nut cheerios are so great?"

"Uh…yeah, I guess." Kankuro had another anime water droplet. "Hey isn't that… it's Chouji…and Ino!" Kankuro almost choked on his first spoonful of cereal.

"What? Where?" Kiba looked around and turned his head to find Ino and Chouji sitting at a table about forty feet away. "Wow, it is them."

"Of course it's them!" Kankuro bonked Kiba on the back of his head.

"Owww…what are they doing here together though?"

"Who knows? Maybe they just coincidently saw each other and went to eat breakfast together." Kankuro concluded.

"Or maybe, they're on a date!"

"A breakfast date?"

"It happens!"

"Like you would know."

"I _would_ know!"

"Whatever. Let's just get back to the poi- Chouji's blushing!" Kankuro blurted out.

"He is blushing! I wish I had a video camera and tape all this."

"From almost fifty feet away? You can be very random sometimes you know that?" Kankuro said.

"I could zoom in!" Kiba tried to defend himself.

"Whatever. Oh no! Ino's walking this way!" Kankuro said.

"What are we going to do?" Kiba whispered.

"I don't know. Just hide somewhere." Kankuro whispered.

"Under the table."

"Under the _table_!"

"Hurry!"

They both hid under the table. They weren't very observant because they couldn't tell that Ino was walking in another direction, so she would've never seen them. Also, they weren't thinking well because they could've just poofed away using that poof-out-of-thin-air technique thing that Kakashi uses a lot. Back to the point, the two guys stayed under the table until they were sure Ino _and_ Chouji weren't in the cafeteria anymore. They both got up and noticed their breakfast was gone.

"Awww…so that's what the waiter was doing at our table. He was taking our bowls away." Kiba whined.

"No, really? I didn't notice." Kankuro said sarcastically as ever. "Let's just go back upstairs. Maybe Hinata's done with whatever she's been doing. She might let you back in, though I wouldn't blame her if she kept you out." Kankuro chucked.

"Haha. Very funny." Kiba said sarcastically.

They took the elevator upstairs to the 100th floor and knocked on the room 1004 door.

"Hinata! Are you done with whatever you're doing? Kankuro's here; he wants to come in too!" Kiba asked being very loud so Hinata would be able to hear him.

"Y-Yes, I'm done." Hinata opened the door and let Kiba and Kankuro in.

"So what were yo-" Kiba didn't finish his sentence. He looked around the whole room and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. It was real. "K-Kankuro? D-Do you see w-what I see?" He stuttered like Hinata would.

"I think so. Do you see mountains of food all over the room?" Kankuro wanted to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Y-yeah, I do." Kiba's mouth opened and was almost drooling. Then he shook his head to stop staring at the food. "Hinata? What is all this? Why'd you make so much food?"

"R-Remember yesterday? I said I would g-get you guys a meal! Then you s-said I should buy you food f-for the whole d-day. So…I got you guys enough f-food to h-hopefully last the whole d-day! But you n-never know how hungry Chouji can be, so I m-made some m-more and f-froze them in the f-freezer."

"That was smart, Hinata." Kankuro sounded like a zombie. His eyes were still on all the food. He was drooling like crazy.

"Thanks Hinata-chan!" Kiba grinned. "We can eat it now, right?"

"Y-Yeah, of c-course." Hinata stuttered. Hinata watched as Kankuro and Kiba pigged out at the variety of food around the room. How did they not smell Hinata's cooking this morning? Who knows? As Hinata watched the gruesome eating of the boys, she started to feel a little lightheaded. She fainted a second later. Those boys eat like total pigs.

knock knock There was a knock on the side door, the one that connects the rooms together. It was coming from room 1002. "Hey? I smell food! Can I come in!" Chouji said through the door. "Rock Lee's here too! We're getting hungry!"

Hinata woke up from her faint and opened the door because Kankuro and Kiba were too busy eating to hear anything other than the crunching of their teeth. "H-Hi Chouji. H-Hello Rock Lee." Hinata rubbed her head from falling down. 'I have to stop fainting.'

"What's going on in-?…oh my goodness!" Chouji changed what he was saying. He knew there was food, but not this much. "C-can I have s-some food, H-Hinata? Please!" Chouji begged.

"O-Of course. Y-You can have s-some too, Lee."

"Hai! Domo arigato, Hinata!" Lee went to where Chouji, Kiba, and Kankuro were. They seemed to be eating in one section of the room at a time.

"Umm…I think I'll just go outside and find something to do. There's more food in the freezer if you really need it. Just microwave it for a couple of minutes." Hinata said. 'I don't think they're listening. Oh well." Hinata took her green room key and went outside into the hallway.

"Byukagan!" Hinata wanted to find out where her friends were without bothering them. 'Sakura is with Ino. They're playing volleyball. Temari's in her room. She's singing! I've never heard her sing before! Tenten's walking with Neji somewhere. I wonder if they went on a date yet. They're getting so old (think about it when you're a ninja and stuff) they should be married by now. Then again, I should be dating by now, but noooo, Neji is so overprotective.' Hinata sounded very whiny and Ino-like saying that last sentence. 'I guess I should look around the hotel more. I mine as well.'

So Hinata walked around the hotel and she passed by Ino and Sakura. They wanted her to play with them but Hinata kindly rejected the invite. She didn't feel like doing sports. She wanted to do something, but nothing too strenuous. She saw Temari looking very deep in thought pass by but Temari didn't seem to notice her. "Byukagan!" Hinata whispered. 'She looks like she's been walking for hours. Her back isn't totally straight, her pace is very small, and her energy isn't full.' Then Hinata saw some of her feelings thanks to her Byukagan. 'She's confused. She's very confused, about her love-life, friends, family, everything. Poor Temari. I hope she's alright.' '_Of course she's not alright!_' 'I'm just saying I hope she feels better.' '_Yeah, yeah. Maybe she's thinking about that Nara guy. You know they're always flirting with each other, but Shikamaru probably doesn't even know he's doing it._' 'That's true.' Hinata giggled. '_You shouldn't be giggling. You always flirt with that Inuzuka boy and he tries so hard for you to like him, yet you have no idea, and you still go for Naruto. Are you nuts? I must sadly say, Naruto is as dumb as a nail and he'll always love Sakura. You better get that Inuzuka boy before he tries for Ino._' 'Ino? Kiba likes Ino?' '_I'm surprised you didn't see it yet! It's getting pretty obvious. They can both be loud and obnoxious _(no offence) _when they feel like it. Kiba and Ino both flirt with just about anybody. Don't you remember when you hurt your leg and Kiba was all jealous-faced at Naruto?_'(It was in filler episode 176.) 'I-I didn't not-tice.' '_Don't stutter to your inner-self! Maybe you and Kiba should go out or something._' 'Really?' '_Well, of course, or I wouldn't have said it!_' 'But…well…I…Kiba and I…together…it's very…' Hinata fainted.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes I know! Horrible cliffhanging ending, indeed! I'm sorry it sucked. There's still the rest of day 2 and day 3 for Kiba, Hinata, Kankuro, and Rock Lee! I'll make it much better next chapter! I was really procrastinating with homework, drawing, reading, and writing sheet music for the intro to Gomenasai by T.A.T.U. I finished it too! This is a perfect time to say Gomenasai everyone! I hope my writing hasn't killed your eyes or brain!

**Song:** This song is Faint - Linkin Park. I love Linkin Park! Sadly, the song didn't really fit in with the story if you've heard the song before. I just wanted to put it in because 'faint' and Hinata. Whatever. Also the lyrics 'I am a little bit insecure a little unconfident' works kind of well in a retro weird way.


	9. Day 2 Because of You

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto. I'm hoping to own a Shikamaru doll one day!**

**A/N: **This chapter is a continuation of chapter 8. I think I made things less confusing and random. The next couple of chapters will be so dramatic! That's all I'm giving away. Just wait and see and read!

**Published October 22, 2006**

**Chapter 9 - Because of You**

_Last chapter, Hinata had just fainted! Whatever will happen next?!_

"…nata…Hinata?...You…-wake…-et?" Hinata could barely hear a blurry voice.

She opened her eyes slowly, seeing six blurry figures around her.

"Hinata! You're awake!" Kiba cheered. "Took you long enough!" He said playfully.

She saw very clearly now. Kiba, Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, Chouji, and Kankuro were looking at her. Actually, Neji wasn't really looking. He was leaning against the wall.

"K-Kiba? W-What happened?" Hinata rubbed her temples trying to think of what happened before she ended up here, in her hotel room, on the couch.

"You fainted but thankfully Neji used 'his weird cousin senses' and caught you before you hit the ground." Kiba used his index finger and spun it around in a circle near his head, the one you use when someone's crazy, indicating Neji was a little crazy and weird.

"Ummm…okay. T-Thank you, Neji nii-san." Hinata thanked Neji but only received a nod in return

"So what happened? Did you see Naruto again?" Kiba teased and chucked a bit.

"No!" Hinata almost shouted and turned slightly pink.

"Then what made you faint? Did someone do something to you? Did someone hurt you?! If someone hurt you, I swear, he's going down!" Kiba said too fast for Hinata to answer. He was being his overprotective and loving self.

"No, no! Nothing like that, Kiba! It's okay. I was just…uhh…tired. Y-Yeah, just a little tired." Hinata lied. She couldn't say she was thinking about Kiba and herself.

"Oh, okay…just be more careful next time." Kiba was sounding like Hinata's parent.

"He's right." Neji said. Everyone looked at him with confused faces. Neji crossed his arms decided to explain his answer since everyone seemed totally confused. "You shouldn't work yourself so hard if you are going to end up like this." Everyone nodded. It was true.

"Yes, nii-san." Hinata nodded.

"Let's go. I'll talk to you later, Hinata." Neji left the room with Tenten and Rock Lee following him like they were his posse. Neji didn't mean 'goodbye, see you later'; he meant they were going to have a talk later.

Hinata sighed, putting a hand on her forehead and shaking her head. She knew what Neji meant. She didn't want to have a long talk with Neji. Last time she had a 'talk' with him, it was about Naruto, and her crush on him. The conversations they had were awkward and embarrassing.

"Hey, can you guys leave for a while. I gotta talk to Hinata 'bout somethin'." Kiba whispered to Chouji and Kankuro while Hinata was sighing. They nodded, looked at each other and chucked.

"Are you finally going to ask her out, finally?" Kankuro whispered back.

"Nani? Why?" Kiba whispered.

"Kiba! Don't think that I forgot when you told us you liked her. I'm not that old." Kankuro whispered back again.

Kiba sighed. "No. I just want to see if I could make her feel better." He confessed.

"Awww…you're so sensitive, Kiba!" Chouji sarcastically said. He chuckled and punched him friendly in the arm.

Kankuro chuckled as well and punched Kiba in the other arm.

"You guys! Just go!"

"Okay, okay! You just could've asked." Kankuro said.

"I did! And you guys made fun of me!" Kiba shouted in a whisper. (**A/N:** That's possible, right?)

" 'Kay. Bye!" The two boys waved and left Kiba alone with Hinata. When he looked back to Hinata, he was surprised to see she was still sighing. 'How could she sigh that long?' Kiba (and I the narrator) thought. (I really have no idea how she could sigh so long just because Neji was going to have a 'talk' with her. Those talks must be really bad!)

"Uhh…Hinata?" Kiba tried to get her attention.

Hinata took her hand off of her forehead. It was a little pink now. "Y-Yeah, Kiba?"

Kiba sat down next to Hinata. "I just wanted to ask you a question."

"Y-Yeah, Kiba?"

"Why did you faint?"

"W-What d-do y-you m-mean? I s-said I was t-tired."

"You know! I mean _really_; why did you faint? You weren't tired! I know when you're feeling tired, and you barely tired at all!"

"B-But it's t-the truth!" Hinata tried to hide her lie with another.

"Come on, Hinata! Tell me the truth! No one else is here. You know you can tell me anything! You've always told me everything! You told me that you liked Naruto, when Naruto asked if you could help him get Sakura, when Naruto broke your heart and asked Sakura out, when Naru-" Kiba was cut off.

"Okay, okay! I get it!" Hinata sounded scarily like Sakura when she was mad.

"_So_…?"

Hinata took a deep breath in and out. "Okay, but promise you won't laugh, scream, cry, get angry, and or any other feeling. Basically, don't show any emotion."

"What could've happened to you that would make me laugh, scream, cry, 'and or' get angry?" Kiba did bunny-ear quotations with his fingers when he said 'and or'.

"W-Well…I was walking around and I started to think about everyone. I saw Temari and Shikamaru and Neji and Tenten. I started to think about Naruto. Then I thought about you. Then I fainted. There, okay?"

"Nani? I made you faint? I can see why you would think I'd be a little angry at that, but how would that ever make me laugh, scream, or cry? How could I make you faint anyways?"

Hinata sighed and straightened her back. "I was thinking and, it might sound weird but, my 'inner-self' (putting bunny ear quotations) said that you liked me."

"Nani?" Kiba was confused. 'She has an inner-self, too. Does everyone have one? How did her inner-self know that I liked her?' Kiba thought for a moment. 'C-Can she read my minds? Is she reading my mind right now?' Kiba had a scared part-blue-face anime-look.

"Uhh…Kiba? Are you okay?" Hinata asked. Kiba looked afraid about something.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. What were you saying, Hinata?" Kiba wasn't paying attention.

"I was going to tell you the rest of what made me faint, but…" She regretted saying anything at all. It seemed like Kiba forgot what they were talking about.

"Please, tell me! Please, Hinata-chan!" Kiba made a puppy-dog pout with his lip. He was good at that since he was always with Akamaru, when Akamaru was still small.

"Okay…so my 'inner-self' told me that you liked me and always liked me and that I should stop trying to go for Naruto, someone who will always love Sakura; I should date you instead, someone who already likes me a lot, and will always take care of me." Hinata paused for a moment to make sure Kiba got everything she was trying to tell him. Then she continued. "I was talking to my inner-self and I thought about you and me together. Then I fainted."

There was silence for about thirty seconds. It seemed like days to Hinata.

"Kiba…I know, it's stupid. I shouldn't have said anything. I'll just go outsi-" Hinata was about to get off the couch when Kiba caught her hand.

'_You better do it now._' 'That's exactly what I was thinking.' Kiba thought when he caught Hinata's hand. Then Kiba hugged Hinata tightly. (**A/N:** You probably thought Kiba might kiss Hinata. That wouldn't be very good because Hinata would faint and it might take hours till she wakes up again.) "I like you too. I love you." Kiba said without hesitation, but held her tighter when he said 'love'.

"K-Kiba. Do you know what you just said?" Hinata thought she might have heard wrong.

"Yeah, it's okay if you don't. I just wanted to get it out." Kiba reassured Hinata.

"K-Kiba…" Hinata returned the hug. "I like you too."

'She likes me now but doesn't _love_ me yet. She's still thinking about Naruto.' Kiba thought and sighed to himself. He held Hinata a little tighter.

* * *

"Shut up! I can't hear what they're saying!" Chouji whispered as loud as possible. Chouji and Kankuro were trying to eavesdrop on Hinata and Kiba. "I think he just said 'I love you'."

"What?!" Kankuro whispered loudly. "Isn't he going a bit too fast?!"

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too." Chouji sighed. 'I hope he knows what he's doing.'

"Maybe he's caught up in the vacation. Vacations give you time to think about your social life." Kankuro thought of a surprising thought. "W-What if he asks her to marry her?"

"Are you crazy?!" Chouji yelled in a whisper. "He wouldn't do that! Even Kiba's not that dull! That's crossing the line. Anyways, Hinata wouldn't say yes."

"True, but you never know. Things can happen…and fast."

They both sighed.

* * *

"My eternal rival, I shall continue on my mission to defeat you one day!" Lee held his fist up. He had just finished playing rock, paper, scissors with Neji and lost. The score was 49 to 49 but now it was 49 to 50. (**A/N:** Remind you of anything? lol.)

"Why did we have to go to the gym to play rock, paper, scissors again?" Tenten asked.

Neji folded his arms. "It was Lee's idea. This is still considered a 'battle' so we must do it in a dojo or battleground, or gym in this case."

Tenten sighed. "Can we go now? There's no point in staying here when we could be doing something more productive with our time here."

"That is very true Tenten! We shall run 100 laps around this gym without stopping! If we do not succeed, we will have to do 200 push ups on one finger!

Neji and Tenten sighed. "You can do that, Lee. I'll find something else to do. Good luck!" 'He'll need it.'

"I'll shall go too, Tenten. Sayonara, Lee." Neji left with Tenten.

* * *

"Hey, Kiba?" Hinata whispered softer than usual.

"Yeah, Hinata?"

"Kankuro and Chouji are at the door." She continued to whisper.

Kiba looked at the door and decided to open it. Chouji and Kankuro fell onto the ground because they were leaning on the door. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He said ever-so sarcastically. "I think it is Chouji and Kankuro! What are you guys doing here?" He continued being very sarcastic.

"Hehe…hi Kiba!" Kankuro tried to cover. "Ummm…we were just…around, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You probably heard what we were talking about, huh?"

"A tad." Chouji said. "A bit." Kankuro said at the same time as Chouji. "We're sorry!" The two boys said at the same time.

"Whatever. It's okay. Just be smarter next time. Hinata has to Byukagan. She could've told me you were there before. You're lucky she's nice."

"Thank you, Hinata." Kankuro and Chouji sounded like school children.

"So…you two are going out now?" Kankuro couldn't help but ask.

"Uhh…Ummm…" Hinata didn't know how to answer.

"Yes." Kiba said confidently.

"Well congratulations dog-boy!" Kankuro pat Kiba hard on the back.

"Oww…yeah…thanks…I think." Kiba rubbed his newly bruised back. "Hey what time is it?" He asked, looking out the window and realizing the sun was going to set soon.

"It's almost 5. Why?" Chouji replied after looking at the analog clock on the wall.

"Really? Wow, time passes fast. I was just wondering. I'm bored."

"Hmm…Shikamaru's laziness is rubbing off on me. I don't feel like going anywhere, but I want to do something." Chouji said.

"You're right. Shikamaru's laziness is rubbing off on me, too! I don't feel like going anywhere. You got any ideas on what to do, ichuunoonna (girlfriend)?" Kiba grinned when he called Hinata his girlfriend. He was so happy he could call her that now.

"I don't know. Maybe we should just…watch TV?" Hinata suggested.

"Sure." "Yeah." "M'kay." The boys answered. They were very easily pleased.

They hadn't watched TV in ages it seemed. Being a ninja was so stressful and long. You were either training or on a mission. You barely had time for sociality. Luckily, they met in the Academy and Chuunin exams and became friends. Everyone seemed to find a little time to spend time with each other.

Kiba, Hinata, Kankuro, Chouji, Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee ate leftover food in the freezer that Hinata made, at 6:50 P.M.

* * *

_Remember the 'talk' Hinata and Neji were supposed to have? Here it is! Neji left with Hinata, right after finishing dinner and everyone else was still eating, to have their 'talk' in room 1000, Neji and Tenten's room. Hinata's sitting on the couch and Neji is standing in front of her. Time: 7:33 P.M._

"Y-Yes, Neji n-nii-san?" Hinata asked.

"Don't stutter when you talk to me." Neji said slightly coldly. He wasn't mad at Hinata; it was just how he acted.

"Yes, nii-san."

"He asked you already, right?" Neji started.

"Yes, he did." Hinata looked slightly confused. "You approve?"

"Of course." Neji sat down next to Hinata, but didn't look at her. "He would protect you no matter what. He cares about you a lot." Neji closed his eyes and leaned his back on the couch, arms still crossed. "Sometimes I wonder if _you'll_ break _his_ heart and not the other way around." Neji smirked.

"I would never do that to him." Hinata smirked back. It was a very OOC smirk.

"I know. You two have been very close lately. I've always known that he liked you more than a friend. I was surprised that you did not let yourself believe it."

"Well, how was I supposed to? He's my best friend. If you love your best friend like that, and you break up, there would be harsh consequences. _You_, of all people, should know what I mean."

"Yes, I do."

"So I'm guessing you asked Tenten already?" Hinata asked, trying to get the subject off of her and Kiba.

Neji smirked. "Yeah, just this morning before you fainted."

"And you keep telling me, _I_ should get married soon?" Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Take your own advice before you give it to me."

"Like you said, 'harsh consequences'." Neji sighed. "We're more alike than ever before."

"And I thought it was just the eyes." Hinata giggled, trying to lighten the conversation.

Neji sighed. "I'm wondering if Tenten wants me to marry her anymore."

"Anymore?" Hinata asked. "Don't worry, she loves you and she always will. You just better ask before someone else does."

There was silence for about five seconds before Neji started to speak again.

"Did he ask you 'it' yet?" Neji asked.

"No, he didn't." Hinata looked slightly disappointed, her eyes looking down to the lower-left-hand-corner. "It just started. Not even _he_ would move that quickly."

"Remember, you have to get him in less than two years, or else."

"Yes, I remember." Hinata looked slightly depressed. "I'll ask when the-"

"No." Neji interrupted. "He has to ask you. I'll tell him to." Neji started to smirk again. "If he refuses to ask, he's dead."

"Neji!" Hinata said playfully to Neji, if that were possible.

"I'm just saying, he's going to get what's coming to him if he refuses." Neji continued to smirk.

Hinata sighed. "This is why Father made you take 'Gentlemen Classes'; without them, you would be rude and have no class at all."

"Whatever." Neji stood up and faced Hinata, eyes still closed.

"I think this is the shortest 'talk' we've ever had."

"I agree. Thank goodness."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Neji opened one eye.

"Nothing you would understand."

"Try me."

Hinata sighed. "You try too hard." Hinata stood up and put a hand on Neji's shoulders. "It's nothing. Don't worry. If he says no, you won't have to kill him; I'll kill him myself."

Neji smirked yet again. "Very good, Hinata. I guess I taught you well."

"Actually, I got that from Kiba!" Hinata smiled at Neji and slightly skipped out the connected room door and into room 1004 where the others were.

Neji sighed to himself. 'She's growing up so fast. Soon she'll be…' '_Yeah, and you'll still be unmarried! You have to ask Tenten soon, or else! I heard that Tenten might be seeing that puppet guy with the face paint._' 'Kankuro?' '_Yeah, that's him! He seems to be a good flirter trying to get Tenten in the past. I think they went out before._' 'Exactly where did you hear this?' '_It's not important! The point **is** you're not always going to have Tenten to yourself. Maybe she wants someone to ask her now. What if Kankuro asks her now? She doesn't want to wait forever for you!_' 'You're very bossy.' '_That's what makes me fit to be your inner-self!_' Neji sighed again.

* * *

Dinner was over. It was a very boring night. All everyone did was watch TV. Kiba, Hinata, Tenten, Neji, and Rock Lee were watching TV. Actually, they were flipping channels because they all liked to watch different genres of shows. The coffee table was pushed aside, from the front of the couch, to the side where the balcony was. Kiba and Hinata were sitting on the floor with their legs spread in front of them and Hinata was leaning on Kiba's shoulder. Rock Lee was on the left of the couch, Neji in the middle, and Tenten on the right, nearest to the door.

"Hey Neji?" Tenten whispered to Neji's ear while Rock Lee was flipping channels. Tenten had her hand cupped on her cheek so no one could read her lips.

"Hn."

Tenten sighed. "What did you two talk about this time? It was really short. You still haven't told me yet!"

"I told you already I'd be talking about Kiba to Hinata." He said in a low-tone so he didn't have to whisper.

"Really? Usually if Hinata goes out with anybody you'd say no and have an hour talk about why not, but why is Kiba different?" Tenten asked, still whispering.

"Remember when I told you Hinata was going to be heir to the Hyuuga throne?"

"Yea-, oh." Tenten paused for a moment. "She has to marry Kiba or else…"

"She'll be heir to the thrown and I won't be."

"Awww, you're such a good cousin, Neji!" Tenten hugged Neji around his neck and Neji started to blush a little pink.

Everyone else stopped and stared at Tenten hugging Neji.

"Umm…Tenten, what are you doing?" Rock Lee bravely asked.

Tenten let go of the hug. Then she faked laughed a little and waved her hand like it was nothing. "Oh nothing. It's nothing. Hey isn't that Deal or No Deal?!" Tenten tried to change the subject.

"It is, Tenten!" Rock Lee cheered. "I love this show! It is my favorite!" Luckily for Tenten, it really _was_ Lee's current favorite show.

Tenten sighed and rubbed an imaginary water drop off her forehead. "Thank you, TV."

After a very long marathon of 'Deal or No Deal', Hinata and Tenten started to get sleepy. Hinata fell asleep in Kiba's lap and Tenten fell asleep on Neji's shoulder! (**A/N:** Don't you wish you could be Tenten right now?) It was surprising to see Neji not care about this, but it was more surprising that Neji had a blush as red as Hinata's used to be. Thankfully for Neji, only Kiba and Rock Lee were awake to see this.

"H-Hinata?" Kiba rocked Hinata back and forth gently to wake her up.

"W-What is it, Kiba?" Hinata yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"I think you should see this." Kiba pointed at Neji and Tenten

Hinata looked behind herself and saw Tenten sleeping on Neji.

"Awww…I knew Neji wasn't that bad."

"Hn." Neji crossed his arms slowly, making sure not to wake up Tenten. "I think we'll be going now." Neji carefully slid Tenten's head off his shoulder and into his left arm. Then he carried her bridal-style and started walking to their room.

"I shall be going too!" Rock Lee whispered so he wouldn't wake up Tenten. "It is wonderful to see youthful love in the air." Rock Lee posed in his 'nice-guy' pose.

Neji glared at Rock Lee for his comment and the three left.

* * *

'_Where's the good stuff?' you may be asking. Here it is! After everyone went to their correct rooms, Kiba and Hinata were alone in their room. They were both sitting on the couch. Kiba had his elbows on his knees with his hands supporting his chin. Hinata had her legs on the couch, crossed, and hands laced in front of her. They weren't looking at each other; they were looking straight ahead, at the wall and TV that was turned off._

"So what did you two talk about this time?" Kiba asked seriously in a low-tone. "It was very short this time. Did he say no?"

"Actually, it was the opposite. He approved greatly. It was very surprising, very unlike him." Hinata smiled trying to lighten the mood.

"He wants you to get it over with, huh?" Kiba cuffed his hands together under his chin.

"Yeah." Hinata's lightening failed. She was slightly depressed again.

"I can't…" Kiba took a deep breath in and out.

Hinata's pupils shrunk in shock and she opened her mouth slightly.

"…not yet anyways." Kiba reassured Hinata.

Hinata burst out of nowhere and started crying.

"H-Hinata! What is it?! I'm sorry! Did I do something wrong?!" Kiba waved his hands frantically to say he didn't mean anything he had said before that would make her cry.

Hinata sniffled and rubbed her tears away. Then she laughed a little. "Kiba, it's alright. You didn't do anything wrong. I was just happy that you would do all that for me."

"Oh. Yeah, I knew that." Kiba tried to play cool. "Just don't scare me like that again."

Hinata started crying again.

"Hinata!" Kiba whined. "Stop it! Please!"

Hinata stopped crying. "You never say please."

"I say please when it's the absolutely last thing I must do."

"Awww, you're so sweet." Hinata kissed Kiba on the cheek.

Kiba then tried to kiss Hinata on the lips. When he drew closer to her and they were only a few centimeters apart, Hinata hugged her arms around his neck instead.

"You're mean, you know that?" Kiba chuckled playfully.

"I know. That's why you _love_ me."

* * *

**A/N:** Okay it wasn't that great of an ending chapter, but oh well. So, Hinata and Kiba are officially a couple in the story. Again, if you have a song you want me to use, go ahead and, tell me! I already have the next couple chapter songs ready. If you think they're OOC, they are a little, but they're older! Remember, most of them are 19, not 12 or 15, but 19 and over!

**Song:** Because of You - Kelly Clarkson. This was almost a must song. I like it a lot. Those lyrics fit in well, or at least, I think they do. I first thought of Weak - JoJo, but in the end, it didn't really fit in as well as it was supposed to. Because of You definitely fits better. The next chapter songs are all picked out! I'm so happy! Wait and see for drama!


	10. Day 3 Tainted Love Too Little Too Late

**Disclaimer:** I still do not own Naruto. I might own the new Shikamaru time-skip doll when they come out in 2007 though!

**A/N:** Here's the dramatic chapter I was talking about in the last chapter. If you didn't already know, this story will be on hiatus. It's not because I'm too busy anything (though I am getting a tad busy), but November is National Novel Writing Month. More information, and some good news, is on my profile page.

**Published ** **October 29, 2006**

**Chapter 10 - Tainted Love/Too Little Too Late**

_Day 3. Last time we saw Temari and Shikamaru (which seems like so many chapters ago), they were about to play basketball._

"First to get one shot." Temari states more than suggested.

"Fine."

"Three..." Temari said. "Two…" Shikamaru said. "One…" They said in unison.

Temari quickly took the ball away from the middle of the court and dribbled it. Then Shikamaru used his Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) and stopped Temari from moving.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Temari shouted at him. She hated Shikamaru's jutsus. They were so controlling.

"We never explained what the rules were. I'm just doing what I can to win the game." Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders and walked over to Temari and the basketball.

Temari unwillingly followed Shikamaru's movements towards the middle of the court. She was right in front of the basketball, so her foot kicked the ball towards the middle as well. Temari sighed. "This sucks." She mumbled.

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" Shikamaru smirked. The two players were exactly where they started. Shikamaru kicked the air and Temari followed by kicking the basketball towards Shikamaru. Shikamaru picked up the ball.

"Okay, genius. I get it. Let's just make you the winner already, 'kay?" Temari sighed. "I think I've known you long enough to know when to give up."

Shikamaru's pupils grew smaller. "Nani? Are you serious?"

"Why would I be kidding?"

'True.' Shikamaru sighed. "I guess." Shikamaru let go of his jutsu and Temari.

Temari walked closer to Shikamaru until they could feel each other's breath on one another. Temari smirked as she whispered in his ear. "I win." She quickly took the basketball from Shikamaru's hands and shot the ball backwards into the hoop.

Shikamaru didn't have enough time to react. He had his guard down. He saw the ball fall into the hoop in slow motion. 'How the hell?' Shikamaru thought. The ball hit the ground and Shikamaru became confused. Then he smirked. The game wasn't all that important. "And you say _I'm_ the genius?"

Temari had her head down. She could still feel Shikamaru's breath on her neck. She straightened her arms and squeezed her hands into a fist. "You _let_ me win, didn't you?!" Temari loudly accused Shikamaru.

"No, no! I didn't! Really, I didn't!" Shikamaru waved his hands in front of him.

"How could you do that?! You're such a conniving, insensitive, ugh!"

"Hey, I thought you wanted to win?" Shikamaru tried to reason with Temari. Shikamaru stepped back and Temari stepped closer and closer to him.

"So you _did_ let me win! Of course, I wanted to win, but not like that! You were so easy! I expected something more challenging, something thrilling, something _different_!"

"Okay, okay! We'll have a rematch. That better?" Shikamaru was almost to the wall.

Temari crossed her arms on her chest. "Hmph. Okay."

* * *

_12:30 P.M. in room 1000._

"I'm going out for a bit, 'kay?" Tenten told Neji.

"Hn." Neji stated in his everyday monotonous tone.

"I'm going to find Sakura and Ino. I haven't talked to them in _ages_!"

"Less than two days." Neji corrected Tenten's hyperbole.

"Well, it seems like _ages_." Tenten defended herself trying to show that she was emphasizing her time away from her friends.

"Hn." Neji said in an 'I don't care' kind of tone.

"Don't worry! I'll be fine!" Tenten reassured Neji.

"Hn." Neji said in an almost disgusted tone.

"Neji! Don't worry! Who would hit on me?" Tenten asked.

"Hn." Neji retorted back in the same tone.

"Well I'd kick their ass if any of them did that." Tenten replied.

"Hn." Neji said in a tone he barely ever used.

"Thanks Neji! You're so sweet!" Tenten smiled and skipped to the door to leave.

* * *

"Three." Temari spoke again with her game face on. "Two." Shikamaru spoke in the same tone, with his game face on. (**A/N:** Who knew they had a game face?) "One." They said in unison. (More déjà vu.) 

This time, Shikamaru got the ball before Temari could. He dribbled the ball five feet away from the hoop and tried to shoot but was blocked by Temari. Temari knocked the ball out of Shikamaru's grip and ran to where the ball was rolling. She picked up the ball and dribbled it in the direction of her basket (the one she was supposed to shoot into) but Shikamaru was there. He was behind Temari trying to get the ball as she dribbled with one hand and tried blocking Shikamaru with her other hand. Shikamaru realized his technique wasn't really working, so he backed away and decided to try and steal the ball while Temari was dribbling. He lunged towards the ball and, to his surprise, actually stole the ball from Temari. He ran to his basket and tried to shoot again.

"You aren't getting away that easily." Temari muttered under her breath. She ran towards Shikamaru and slammed the ball straight down, like volleyball, from his hands, while he was trying to shoot.

Both players were shoving each other trying to get to the ball first. Shikamaru almost pushed Temari over, but luckily for Shikamaru, Temari was able to balance herself. Shikamaru somehow got to the ball first and shot from right side of the half-court line. One way or another, the ball, with surprise from both players, went into the hoop. In slow motion, Temari and Shikamaru could see the net sway back and forth as the ball went through. (It was very dramatic.) Shikamaru had won.

"Was that better?" Shikamaru smirked slightly. He had never tried so hard before. 'Troublesome woman better say yes. I'm actually sweating.'

"You are so inconsiderate! What was that for?!" Temari shouted out with her arms straight down and hands in fists.

"Nani?!" Shikamaru was annoyed and puzzled. He started to slouch. "What did I do this time?" Shikamaru lazily spoke.

"You beat me!"

"Nani? I thought you wanted me to try and win." Shikamaru sighed. 'Troublesome woman.'

"Yeah; _try_; not to actually beat me!"

"Whatever. Same difference." Shikamaru flicked Temari off without knowing it.

"Ugh! You are so impossible, Shikamaru!" Temari brought out her little fan and waved it in Shikamaru's direction. The wind made Shikamaru fall on his butt; then slid him quickly crashing him into the wall. Temari turned around and walked out of the room.

'How the hell did she do that?!' Shikamaru thought as he rubbed his back, watching Temari leave, not caring about Shikamaru's condition. 'Damn, troublesome woman.'

* * *

_In room 1004 at around 1:30 in the afternoon._

"…nata. Wa…up." A voice called out in a low-tone.

Hinata sat up from her position and rubbed her eyes. She faintly saw a blurry figure above her, arms crossed, and she heard a small snoring noise next to her. When she realized where she was and who it was in front of her, she fainted.

"…nata. Wa…up." Like déjà vu, the same voice said monotonously in the same tone.

Hinata, again, sat up, this time remembering who she saw before. "Yes, Neji nii-san?" Hinata asked politely, still seeing a blur in front of her, but now there were two.

"Can you find Tenten?" Neji sighed at the thought of having to ask his little cousin for help.

"Why? Can't you use your Byukagan?"

"She made him promise not to use it." Rock Lee grinned as he answered for Neji.

"Umm…okay…Byukagan." Hinata saw Tenten talking to Sakura in the lobby. "She's in the lobby with Sakura." There was a pause of silence. "Why do you want to know, anyways? Tenten can take care of herself. She _is_ a Chuunin-ranked ninja." At that moment, Hinata felt something moving next to her. She slowly turned her head to find Kiba sleeping next to her. 'So it _was_ him snoring.' She blushed slightly.

"I know _that_, but I'm supposed to know where she is at all times." Neji sighed. "Being just friends took much less effort."

"But youthful love shall reign over all! It is worth the great effort and time because in the end, your loved one will always be with you!" Rock Lee said dramatically.

Hinata and Neji lowered their heads in a chibi-anime-style with cute anime water drops on their heads.

"How long were you two up last night?" Neji asked as he looked at Kiba and Hinata.

"I don't remember. We were watching TV and just fell asleep." Hinata said. 'I hope he's not angry, or worse, 'disappointed'.'

"I'm not angry or disappointed, Hinata." Neji answered Hinata's mind. Sometimes Hinata wondered if he could read minds that way. "I'm just…concerned."

'Concerned?' Hinata sighed. 'It's better than angry and _much_ better than disappointed."

"He's a heavy sleeper, huh?" Neji looked at Kiba who was almost drooling. 'Why Hinata likes him so much, I'll never know.'

* * *

Shikamaru sighed. 'I guess I should go after her. How troublesome.' '_Troublesome indeed._' 'Finally we agree on something.' Shikamaru did what a good boyfriend, or at least gentleman, would do. He chased after Temari to ask if she was alright. (**A/N:** Seriously, boys who read this, you should always find out if a girl's okay, unless she says she doesn't want to talk about it. Then you let her do her thing, but always stay with her.) 

Temari was walking very quickly, making many small steps, heading towards the elevator. She could vaguely hear Shikamaru sighing, trying to catch up with her. She turned her head quickly to see if it was him; it _was_ him. 'He's actually coming this far for _me_? He must be sick or something.' Temari quickened her already quick pace and pressed the button for the elevator. She waited, impatiently, hoping that Shikamaru wouldn't catch up to her. 'How am I going to explain what just happened? I was just overreacting to see how he would react. Now he's coming here, probably concerned, and wants to know 'how I feel'.' Temari sighed.

Temari got her unwanted wish. Shikamaru caught up to Temari just as the elevator doors opened. A group of tourists came rushing out leaving an empty elevator. It was the perfect time for Temari to make a clean getaway. She slipped inside the elevator while tourists were coming out, and repeatedly pressed the 'close door' button.

Shikamaru wasn't so lucky. He was a genius, so he knew Temari would sneak inside the elevator, but he couldn't get inside. He was being pushed back with the tourists. He ran towards the door, but it closed too quickly. Shikamaru did get a glimpse of Temari with her arms crossed, looking very _emotional_. He couldn't tell what emotions she was feeling, but they didn't seem all that happy. Shikamaru sighed. 'Temari, you better not go emo on me.' He thought, half joking and half literally.

* * *

"Yeah, I remember coming here before!" Ino spoke. "Yup, I remember like it was yesterday! I was six…or maybe I was seven…eight? Oh well, whatever. There were so many shops. I bought this really cute jacket, no wait; it was a sweater…or was it shoes?" Ino talked to herself trying to remember her memory. 

"Yeah, like it was yesterday." Sakura said sarcastically. 'Just say you only remember going to a mall! Is that so hard?!' '_Cha!_' "Hey Ino? Let's just go in already."

Ino nodded. "Come on boys!" Ino shouted out to Naruto and Chouji. They were about thirty meters away. They were talking about ramen.

"I think the new ramen recipe could use some more flavor." Chouji suggested.

"No way, dattebayo! It's perfect as it is!" Naruto argued.

"But you have to admit, it isn't as good as the limited-edition one-time only flavor." Chouji persuaded.

"Very true, but it's not fair! You're talking about the special limited-edition one-time only trial-offer flavor that only 100 customers could get! That's the best! You can't beat it!"

"Yeah, I remember when I ate it. It was heavenly! Delicious!"

"Yeah, I know. I ate it on my 18th birthday! It was mouth-watering and satisfying! I sent in feedback and put that they should sell this flavor all around the world!"

"Me too! They still haven't come out with it yet though." Chouji said, sighing.

"Yeah." Naruto looked sad as well. "I wonder what flavor it was…"

"You two better get your asses here right now or we'll both beat you up!" Ino yelled out to the boys loud enough for the whole world to hear.

"We better hurry dattebayo!" Naruto said scared and running towards the girls as quickly as possible.

"Yeah! Ino's bad enough, but Sakura and Ino are death on a stick!" Chouji added, running alongside Naruto.

"Finally! What were you two talking about?" Ino asked rhetorically.

Chouji raised his hand and put his index finger up signaling that he was beginning to talk. As he opened his mouth, Ino interrupted.

"Don't answer that. Let's just get in and shop!"

"Can we eat first?" Chouji whined.

"Ugh! Do we have to?" Ino whined back. She was the queen of complaints.

"But Ino!" Chouji whined again. He was the king of complaints.

They could both equally complain a lot. Sakura and Naruto just watched from the sides as Chouji and Ino complained back and forth to each other. The conversations sounded very annoying and not something you would want to hear. Ino and Chouji had the voices of five year-olds. It was amazing that they were nineteen.

"Fine!" Ino crossed her arms. "Hmph…let's go already." She stomped all the way to food court.

Naruto and Sakura looked puzzled but shook it off. Chouji was happily walking with his arms swaying like a jogger's. (**A/N:** Characters can be so OOC in their free time.)

"Can you say _psycho_?!" Sakura whispered to Naruto.

"Yeah, dattebayo! Psycho!" Naruto said literally.

Sakura sighed and shook her head. "That's not what I meant, ugh, whatever. Let's just eat, shop, and go back to the hotel."

"Hai Sakura-chan! Dattebayo!"

_The four at lunch and blah, blah, blah. It's not that important._

The group finished lunch and started to find a store to shop at. It wasn't that hard; Sakura and Ino could shop anywhere. They ended up going to the first store they saw, closest the food court, Bath and Body Works.

"Achoo!" Chouji and Naruto sneezed at the same time.

"You guys should stay outside; you'll be sneezing too much." Sakura suggested.

"Then we won't be able to shop as comfortably and we might get sick." Ino added.

"Hai!" Chouji and Naruto said at the same time again.

Sakura and Ino went in and out in a matter of minutes. They were very quick at shopping. Ino, Chouji, Sakura, and Naruto went to more stores, shopping and buying at least $30 worth of merchandise at each store.

"Are we done yet, Sakura-chan?" Naruto said in a childish and whiny voice.

"Oh, come on, Naruto! We haven't been shopping for that long! It's only…" Sakura reached for her cell phone. (**A/N:** Yes, she has a cell phone in this story!) "…5 o' clock! We've been shopping for that long? It seems like only 15 minutes."

"So can we go now, Sakura-chan?!" Naruto asked.

Sakura sighed. "Ugh! Okay, okay. Go get Ino and Chouji and then we can leave, alright?!"

"Arigato, Sakura-chan! Dattebayo!" Naruto ran in search of Ino and Chouji.

Sakura sighed again. 'Same old Naruto. At least I get to shop for 5 more minutes."

* * *

"Troublesome woman and her troublesome deeds. Why she gotta be so troublesome?" Shikamaru muttered to himself, arms crossed, walking in a hallway to his room. 

"Troublesome, way too troublesome for me. I don't know why I try with such trouble." Shikamaru muttered again as he opened the door with his blue key. He opened the door and stepped inside. Then he saw…

* * *

"You could just call her on her cell phone; I mean, if you're really that worried." Hinata suggested to Neji, who was pacing back and forth with his arms crossed. 

"If you're going to keep on walking back and forth, could you not do it in front of the TV?" Kiba asked, annoyed that he couldn't watch TV without a disturbance.

Neji glared an evil 'I'm-going-to-kill-you-if-you-don't-shut-up' glare.

"S-Sorry, Neji! Do whatever you want!" Kiba stuttered. He was scared of Neji almost as much as he was scared of the old Gaara.

"Neji!" Hinata shouted, or whispered in her voice very loudly.

"Hn." Neji stepped away from the TV and started pacing back and forth on the side, near the window.

"H-How did you d-do that, H-Hinata?" Kiba stuttered. He was starting to sound like Hinata.

"It's a cousin thing." Hinata smiled at Kiba. Then she faced Neji. "Look what you did, Neji! Now Kiba's stuttering!" She playfully pointed out to Neji.

Surprisingly, Neji smirked and was slightly amused. "I'm going to train with Lee. Ja ne."

"Ja ne Neji!" "Ja ne Neji nii-san!" Kiba and Hinata said goodbye to Neji.

Kiba sighed. "I'm glad he's finally gone." He put his hands behind his head to loosen up and closed his eyes.

"Yeah, it's much more relaxing now." Hinata gave a quick kiss on Kiba's cheek while he was closing his eyes. Hinata could see Kiba blush slightly. "I have a weird craving to do some pull-ups." She stood up and walked towards the window. Hinata reached her hands up to the bar holding the curtains up and started to do pull-ups. Luckily, the bar was made of metal and not plastic, so she didn't break it. (**A/N:** I had a craving to do pull-ups.)

* * *

Last time with Shikamaru…_He opened the door and stepped inside. Then he saw…_

"Temari!" Shikamaru almost ran to Temari. He was still really lazy so he jogged. When he got closer, he could see that she was sweating and was burning up. 'What happened to her? She was just fine a couple minutes ago!' '_She worked herself so hard just for you. That's sweet!_' 'Whatever. This is much too troublesome.' Shikamaru did what he was _supposed_ to do; he carried Temari bridal-style to the couch and laid her down gently. He was being a very good gentleman _and_ boyfriend. He even went out of his way and actually put a cold moistened towel on Temari's head to reduce her feverish heat. He probably wouldn't have done that for anyone else, not even himself, because of his extreme laziness.

_5 minutes later._

"Mmm. Hmmm?" Temari started to open her eyes slowly. She sat up from lying down and heard the TV. 'What happened?' She thought. 'How'd I end up…damn. How the hell do I keep on fainting? I'm so…weak.' Then she saw who was next to her feet. 'Shikamaru…?'

Shikamaru had his head leaning his hand. His elbow was on the arm of the chair; he was sleeping. (**A/N:** How he fell asleep in less than 5 minutes? I have no idea. He's gifted.)

'Did Shikamaru put me on the couch? I _know_ I didn't fall on the couch. He actually used his lazy-ass for something productive. Amazing.' Temari smiled and smirked at the same time looking at Shikamaru.

"Oh, Shika-kun! Wake up!" Temari said in a sing-song voice. Shikamaru didn't budge a bit. 'Gosh, is he _that_ heavy of a sleeper?' "Shikamaru!" Temari said forcefully. When he still didn't move, she pushed his arm which made Shikamaru's other arm fall down, making his head fall onto the arm of the chair, waking him up.

"Nani?!" What was that for?!" Shikamaru shouted as loudly as a lazy-ass could and would. He started to rub the side of his head and mumble something about this being troublesome.

"I just wanted to say thanks! You don't have to be so rude!" Temari shouted back, being much louder than Shikamaru.

"Well you _did _just make my head hit the sofa!" Shikamaru rubbed his head harder. "And it hurt a lot too!"

"Don't be such a baby! It wasn't that hard!" Temari said, waving her hand down.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru muttered.

"What did you just say?!" Temari shouted out. She knew what he said.

"I said 'troublesome woman'!" Shikamaru shouted back.

"That's it! If you think what happened after our basketball game was hurt; you haven't seen anything yet!" Temari took out her small portable fan from her pocket and opened it up. She was about to wave it at Shikamaru, but suddenly stopped. "What am I doing?" She thought out loud.

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru tried to get off the topic off of him and pain.

Temari shook her head. "It's noth…It's…noth…" Temari's head fell back down, hitting the arm of the sofa.

'Not again! What is up with this troublesome woman?' Shikamaru thought.

_10 minutes later._

Temari woke up yet again same as before. This time, she remembered right away what happened. 'Weak…' She looked at Shikamaru. This time, he was awake, watching TV.

"Finally awake again. It took you longer to wake up this time." Shikamaru said, not looking at Temari when talking.

"Yeah, what happened before…I…" Temari couldn't think of what to say.

"You don't have to explain. It would be too troublesome for both of us. Just don't faint anymore, okay. You're fainting as much as Hinata used to."

Temari nodded. 'Hmmm…' She thought. 'Maybe…' Out of nowhere, Temari leaned over to Shikamaru, flung her arms around his neck, and laid her head on his shoulder.

Shikamaru turned a little red, but still kept his composure, acting like nothing happened. Then he sighed. "Women are so hard to understand."

"You got that right!" Temari smirked and chuckled a little. She liked being around Shikamaru, being close to him, touching him. It made her feel…girly. She was always the strong, unemotional, kunoichi that everyone was afraid of, sister of the deadly puppet master and deadlier Kazekage, Gaara.

* * *

"I'm ba…hmm?" Tenten said as she walked into room 1000. 'He's not in here? He must be with Lee who's probably in the gym.' Tenten sighed. 'Great. Now I'll probably have to train with them too. Don't they realize that a vacation is supposed to be relaxing?' She thought as she walked towards the elevator. 

When she got downstairs, Tenten tried to find Rock Lee and Neji. 'They're not here? They have to be here! Where else could they be?!' She sighed. 'I guess I'll have to wait upstairs for them unless I can find them somehow in this big hotel.' Tenten decided to walk through a couple of floors and if she didn't find Lee and Neji, she would go back to her room and wait for them.

"Youth shall not fail me! I will not give up without a fight!" a voice said faintly.

"Hmmm? That sounded like Lee." Tenten said out loud to herself. 'Maybe my mind is playing games with my head. Why would Neji be in here with Lee?" The kunoichi walked in anyways just in case she wasn't hearing things. "N-Neji! Oh my good-" Tenten started to say, but she fainted before she could finish.

_7 minutes later._

"-enten." Tenten heard a voice calling her name. Someone was holding her. "Hmm?"

"Tenten, you are okay! Yosh! You had me very worried! Thank goodness for your youthfulness." Lee cheered.

Tenten fully opened her eyes and saw Neji and Rock Lee looking down at her. When Tenten realized Neji was holding her back with his arm, she quickly blushed a very bright shade of red. "Neji!" Tenten started. "Were you doing what I thought you were doing?!" She sounded concerned.

Neji sighed. "…Yes." He mumbled barely being comprehendible.

"I thought you stopped doing that! You know you'll go crazy again!" Tenten sounded more like Neji's guardian than girlfriend. Then she sat up, not leaning on Neji's arm anymore. "Did Lee talk you into it?" She glanced at Lee with an 'I'm-disappointed-in-you' kind of look.

"Nani?! I did not do anything to Neji! He asked if I wanted to play him! Do not blame the great green beast!" Rock Lee waved his hands back and forth in front of himself.

"Neji! Playing with fake weapons makes you go crazy!"

"Hmph…I can handle it." Neji crossed his arms and turned his head upward and to the side.

"Neji!" Tenten started shouting. She looked pissed off, big time. "You promised you wouldn't play against Lee anymore! You become too competitive!" Tenten's eyes started to water. Then she paused and took a deep breath in and out. "Last time you got so angry that you hit me!" Tenten wiped a tear from her right eye that was beginning to drop."

"I think you should leave now Lee." Neji said in a low, serious tone, to Lee.

"Hai." Lee whispered and left in less than a second, running.

Neji sat down on the ground next to Tenten. "I'm sorry." He said quietly, looking at the ground.

"I know. You've never done this before. I'm not sure if you're keeping any of your promises to me." Tenten was looking down at the ground as well. Then she bent her legs and put her chin on her knees. "I'm not sure where we're going anymore." She started to feel tears falling down her eyes. "Do you think we should be dating?"

"I don't know." Neji said monotonously. "I'm supposed to be a genius, yet I know nothing about love." He sighed. "I don't think I love you." Neji said quickly, again monotonously. He was hoping that Tenten would understand. She didn't.

"You know what; this is too much. I don't think you know _just_ how much I care about you!" There were many tears falling down Tenten's face as she said her last sentence. Then she stood up on her feet and turned her hands into tight fists. "I'm sorry too." Tenten started running and left the room. She quickly took the stairs up from the 74th floor to her room on the 100th floor. She realized on the 92nd floor that she should've waited to take the elevator, but this way seemed more dramatic and faster to get away from Neji.

Neji was in shock at what Tenten said to him. He couldn't move at all. His pupils widened to comprehend what just happened. He couldn't even blink. He could only breathe and look at the ground. Tenten's word replayed and echoed in his mind over and over again. _I don't think you know just how much I care about you… know just how much I care about you…care about you…care about you…care._ 'I'm such an idiot.' '_You got that right._' His inner-self said depressingly.

* * *

"This isn't working out." Shikamaru said plainly in a low-voice. 

Temari was in total shock. She had her guard down, not thinking something like this would ever happen. She sat up from her position and stared at Shikamaru. "What? What are you talking about?"

"You're _too_ troublesome." Shikamaru said bluntly.

"But I've always been this way. You've never had an issue with me before!" Temari raised her voice in anger and confusion.

"Like I said, you've become too troublesome. You're too much to handle. You've changed." Shikamaru closed his eyes and put his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands.

"I haven't changed! Don't say something like that! I opened up myself to you and this is how to repay me! I've never told anyone how I feel! Not Gaara or Kankuro…" Temari sighed loudly. "…just you."

"No!" Shikamaru shouted. He was serious. He turned to Temari and looked her straight in the eye.

"But I love you! You said you loved me!" Temari started to cry as she yelled to Shikamaru.

"But I didn't mean it!" Shikamaru said loudly. A couple of seconds past as Shikamaru heard Temari crying and sniffling. "I'm sorry." Shikamaru quietly whispered.

Temari felt her tears in her hands which made her come back to reality and realize what she was doing. 'What the hell am I doing?' Her pupils grew smaller and she couldn't move. 'I've gone weak. He, he's making me weak!' Temari put her hands on her head and shook it like Gaara did when he went crazy. 'No I can't get weak. I have to stay strong. I'm supposed to be the strongest kunoichi!'

Shikamaru looked at Temari with sadness. 'Maybe I shouldn't have said any of that or at least at a better time.' "Temari, I'm sorry, okay. I-"

Temari put her hand up near Shikamaru's face signaling for him to stop talking. "No. You're right." She sniffled. "It's okay. I mean we're three whole years apart. We don't have that much in common, you know." Temari wiped a couple of tears off her face. "Let's just pretend none of this ever happened, okay?" Temari tried to understand Shikamaru's feelings.

"Temari…maybe I was wrong. I don't want anything to change I ju-"

Temari cut Shikamaru off again. "It's too late. You said what you said. You wouldn't have said it if you didn't strongly feel it. It's over." Temari stood up and clenched her fists. Temari put on a fake smile. "I'll be on the balcony." Then she had an almost sad look on her face. "Please…don't bother me." Temari walked to the balcony with her head down.

Once Temari was outside, Shikamaru sighed. 'What am I going to do now?' '_Don't ask me. She's** your** problem._'

* * *

**A/N:** So much drama and OOCness. I'll make an excuse and say love is making them OOC. Cliffhanger for Neji, Tenten, Shikamaru, and Temari! Well, kind of. Anyways, it's supposed to be a cliffhanger…and you won't find out what happens next for a whole month! What torture! Actually, I might release the next chapter if I can finish it by October 31st. Check out my other story that I'll be starting on November 1! 

**Song:** Too Little Too Late - JoJo and Tainted Love - Soft Cell _or_ Marylin Manson _or _Pussycat Dolls, I like all of them. Too Little Too Late is such a wonderful song that I love to sing to, so I made it fit in here. Tainted Love was a good match with Too Little Too Late. I was watching a YouTube video with Tainted Love and then I heard it on the radio, so I decided it was fate, or destiny as Neji would say, to use it.


	11. Day 3 How To Deal In The End

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Sasuke would come back, forget about his brother, and stop acting like a teme so Naruto can be happy.**

**A/N: **Okay, so this chapter is finally out! I was done with most of it on Monday, but just needed a little finishing touch. I added Sakura, Naruto, Ino, and Chouji in this chapter. Originally, they weren't going to be in this chapter because they seemed to not be going anywhere at the moment, so they're more of random filler humor.

**Published November 3, 2006**

**Chapter 11 - How to Deal/In the End**

_Day 3._

Kiba sighed. "Are you done yet?" Kiba sounded annoyed.

"What's up with _you_?" Hinata asked, not understanding Kiba's sudden harsh tone.

"You've been exercising for an hour now. Don't you think that's enough? This is supposed to be a vacation." Kiba still sounded annoyed and disgusted.

"Well _sorry_! You know how much I need to train to get better."

Kiba crossed his arms. "You would've stopped for Naruto." Kiba mumbled.

"What did you say?!" Hinata stopped exercising and stared at Kiba with her arms crossed.

"Nothing." Kiba mumbled again, not looking at Hinata.

"You said something! Tell me!" Hinata already knew what Kiba said. She just wanted him to say it straight to her face.

"I said 'you would've stopped for Naruto'!" Kiba sighed. "You're starting to piss me off." He closed his eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Hinata shouted. (**A/N: **She's never really shouted before, so just imagine mixing together Tenten and Sakura screaming.) "Why are you suddenly acting like this?!"

"Maybe because I've fed up with you long enough! All these years we've could've been together, yet you keep trying to go after Naruto. I don't even know why you kept trying! He doesn't even notice you!"

Hinata gasped and froze.

Kiba noticed. "W-Wait! I…that didn't come out right…Hinata, that's not what I meant."

"It's over, Kiba!" Hinata felt tears drop from her face. She turned pink. "If you really felt this strongly, you should've said something earlier." Hinata cried some more. "I'm sorry I've _wasted_ your time! I _thought_ you loved me!"

"Hinata, I do!" Kiba got up from the couch and put his hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Hinata…" He sighed. "…I'm sorry for what I said. I wasn't thinking."

Hinata sniffled. "No…you know what you were thinking. You just didn't want to say it out loud to me."

"I guess I'm just…" Kiba sighed. "I guess I'm just jealous." Kiba looked at the ceiling instead of Hinata. "You've always been obsessing about Naruto and I've just been trying to keep up. You've always noticed Naruto over me." Kiba sighed and looked Hinata straight in the eye. "I don't know what the hell you see in him." Kiba joked.

Hinata smiled genuinely. She sighed. "You're such a kiss-up." She leaned forward and kissed Kiba on the lips for a quick kiss. "Good thing you're a good kiss-up." Then she leaned back to where she was before. "But next time, don't make me get dramatic like that! I haven't screamed in years!" Hinata crossed her arms and pouted her lips, playing around with Kiba.

"I'm sorry. I'm glad I told you though."

"I'm glad you told me, too. I'm serious though when I say…" She leaned in close and whispered in Kiba's ear. "…if you ever get me overdramatic like that again…you're going down." She backed away and smiled at him. "Well, see ya!" She skipped away, leaving Kiba confused at her playful change of emotions.

'Keep playing games with my head.' He sighed again. 'She can be so strange sometimes.' '_I think she's been hanging out with Tenten and Temari a **little** too much._' 'You got that right.'

* * *

'He doesn't love me, so what's the point of going on?' Temari asked herself. She looked beyond the horizon and watched the clouds in the sky. Then she quickly shook her head realizing what she was doing. 'What am I doing?! I can't watch the _clouds_! _He_ watches the clouds; I don't.' Temari referred Shikamaru to _he_ and _him_ now. She couldn't stand to say his name when she felt the way she did. 'Damn, I wish the stars were out now. I miss Suna stars.' Temari leaned on the railing in front of her with her elbows and rested her chin on her hands. She sighed. 'I ask myself so many times 'what's wrong with me' and I still haven't found the answer yet.' She closed her eyes and tried to think of an answer. 'Maybe I'm working myself too hard. I mean, I _did_ faint…_twice_. Maybe that was just because I was weak.' She thought deeper. 'Why _was_ I working myself so hard?!' She asked herself. 'I was trying to forget…again.' She answered herself. 'I try to forget my past and make myself feel better but all I end up doing is hurting me and then _this_ happens.' Temari sighed again. 'Note to self: don't work out at the gym for an hour nonstop unless you have water.'

_4 minutes later._

'I guess the right thing to do would be to go back in there and apologize to Shikamaru. I didn't have to act so melodramatic.' Then she smirked. 'That would be the _right_ thing to do, but who like's to do _that_?'

The bad kunoichi stayed where she was for a couple more minutes. Then she saw rain clouds and suddenly, it started to rain very hard. Temari sighed. "Of course…" She said out loud, irritated. "You're just playing games with me aren't you, Kami?" There was a loud thunderous sound followed by a great flash of lightning. "Fine, then! I'll go back inside! Just stop with the freakin' thunder and lightning already!" The thunder and lightning ceased and the clouds started to fade away.

* * *

'He doesn't love me, so what's the point of going on?' Tenten asked herself (déjà vu again) while jogging the last couple of stairs. She was still crying and trying to get to her room as fast as possible. 'I just need to get my mind off of him, right?' '_Yeah. You just need time without him. I think he's been around you for so long, you can't remember what it feels like to be without him. Take your time._' 'You're right. Thanks.' Tenten thanked her inner-self who was very smart. She tried to hide her tears, from anyone concerned about her, by lowering her face. She also untied her hair to help her conceal her red scrunched up face. Suddenly, she felt something hit her. She ran into someone.

"Hey watch where you're go-" The person stopped to recognize the familiar girl with the long brown hair.

"Oh, sor-" She sniffled as the other person interrupted her.

"T-Tenten? Tenten, is that you?"

"Huh?" Tenten looked up to see who it was. "K-Kankuro!" She looked very surprised.

"What happened to you? Why are you crying?" Kankuro asked, concerned. "Did Neji do something to you? If he did anything to hurt you, I swear I'll-" He was cut-off. Kankuro was very overprotective when it came to Tenten (just like Kiba with Hinata).

"No, no! It's not anything like that. We're just…umm…well…we broke up." Tenten looked down, looking disappointed and almost embarrassed to tell Kankuro.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." In an instant after answering, Tenten hugged Kankuro and started to bury her face in his chest and cry.

Kankuro put his arms around Tenten and took this moment to remember. 'Just like old times.' He thought.

After about a minute of crying, Tenten separated from Kankuro and wiped her eyes. 'Thanks, Kankuro…for everything. I'm sorry. Now I know how _you_ must've felt." Tenten started to cry again. "I'm _so_ sorry." She cried harder thinking about the pain Kankuro must've felt when she broke up with Kankuro. It was a relationship they knew couldn't last due to distances, but it still hurt Kankuro badly when Tenten finally told him it was 'over'.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else instead of the middle of nowhere. If you're gonna keep up with the waterworks, you can't just do it standing in the middle of a hallway." Kankuro joked.

Tenten giggled. "M'kay." She smiled. "I can't really go to my room though…now that I think about it, it'll just remind me too much of…_him_." Tenten couldn't bear to bring up his name (**A/N:** Tenten and Temari are like twins or something!). "Can I go to your room?" Tenten asked, knowing Kankuro would say yes. (**A/N:** Don't think what you're probably thinking. Tenten isn't trying to flirt or anything. It was just the most logical place to go!)

"Sure." Kankuro put his arm around Tenten and they walked to Kankuro's room together.

Tenten blushed slightly. 'This is probably for the better.' She leaned her head on Kankuro's shoulder. It reminded her of the past…so much of the past.

_Flashback_

_Tenten leaned her head on Kankuro's shoulder. "Kankuro...?"_

"_Yeah?" Kankuro looked down at Tenten._

_Tenten looked up at Kankuro. "This is probably for the better…this won't work. You know that right?"_

"_You know what; I don't. Why not?"_

_Tenten sighed to reveal the obvious. "You live in Suna. I live in Konoha. We would barely be able to see each other. The only reason you're here now is because of the Chuunin Exams and Temari."_

"_Then I'll move here." Kankuro said plainly yet seriously._

"_Kankuro! You know you can't do that! Gaara's the Kazekage! You know you have to be there for him!" Tenten reasoned with concern. "It's over." She said quietly, just loud enough for Kankuro to hear._

_Kankuro stopped walking._

"_K-Kankuro…I know you must be sad, but you had to know this was going to come sometime!"_

"_No…I didn't. I thought you were different." Kankuro had his face down, talking to the ground. He turned around and started walking in the other direction._

_His words made Tenten freeze in her spot. She started to tremble like Hinata used to. "K-Kankuro! I-I…I'm s-s-sorry!" Tenten stuttered just like Hinata would._

"_No use saying sorry now." Kankuro muttered. 'I **really** thought she was different. I'm such a baka (idiot/fool).'_

_End Flashback_

* * *

"Sakura-chan! I found Ino an- Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan, where are you?" Naruto shouted out in the store.

"What are you yelling about, baka (idiot)?" Ino walked along with Chouji to Naruto.

"I can't find Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined.

"Ummm…Sakura's right there." Ino pointed out with ease. She knew how Sakura thought. 'If she had five minutes to shop, she'd shop for shoes.' It was true. (**A/N:** Did you see Sakura's shoes after the time change? They are so cute!)

"Hmmm…" Naruto looked over to the shoes section. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved one of his hands up in the air to get Sakura's attention.

"Hm?" Sakura turned her head from looking at a pair of shoes. "Oh, hey Naruto. What i-" She couldn't finish her sentence. Something was blocking her.

By pure coincidence and luck (good or bad), (**A/N:** and the fact that I'm writing this), Sakura's mouth touched Naruto's mouth as he was running towards her.

By subconscious ninja instinct, Sakura pushed Naruto away from her which made Naruto fall onto the floor flat on his bottom. "Naruto! S-Sorry, Naruto!" Sakura scratched the back of her head and giggled a little. "Heh…it was an accident?" Sakura tried to make up an excuse.

"Sakura-chan! That hurt!" Naruto complained as he stood up, rubbing his bottom.

Ino could be heard laughing from miles away, getting louder as she walked towards Sakura and Naruto. Chouji followed her. "Hahahaha! Billboard-brow! I saw the whole thing!"

"Ino-pig! It was purely ninja instincts." Sakura crossed her arms tightly and turned her head. "Humph."

Sakura and Ino shouted back and forth with each other.

After a couple minutes of back-and-forth arguing, Chouji decided to take a big risk and speak up to Ino and Sakura. "Umm…Ino, Sakura?" Chouji tried getting their attention.

"WHAT?!" The two girls yelled to Chouji.

"Can we not do this? Or at least not do this here?" Chouji asked. Then he cupped one hand on his cheek. "People are starting to stare." He whispered.

Sakura and Ino both looked left, then right, to see many customers staring at the two.

"Heh, I guess we should go back to the hotel or something." Ino scratched the back of her head, a little embarrassed.

"Heh, yeah. Well, come on! Let's go!" Sakura took Naruto's hand and almost dragged him out of the store because of her embarrassment.

"Yeah, come on Chouji!" Ino wrapped her right arm in Chouji's left arm and dragged him out of the store as well.

* * *

"Damn rain just _had_ to bring me back in here with that baka." Temari mumbled as she slid the window screen door open. 'What?! He's not in here?!' She was angry yet happy at the same time. Then she saw a note on the table. She picked it up, plopped on the couch, and read it.

**Went out.**

**- Shi**

"Lazy-ass." Temari said out loud. 'Can't even write his full name. Doesn't even tell me where he's going.' She sighed. 'I'm starting to sound like his mother.' She chuckled. 'I've always sounded like his mother.' She reminisced the memory of when she saved Shikamaru from that Sound-Nin. 'When we were going to the hospital, he said I was as troublesome as his mother but scarier.' (**A/N:** That didn't really happen in the anime or manga.) She smiled. Temari laid her head down on the arm of the chair and put her hands behind her head. 'I guess if I don't look at the clouds, I'll just watch the ceiling and wait till the stars come out.' She thought. 'He better not come in and wake me up.' She smirked and watched the plain white-beige ceiling until she slept due to boredom.

* * *

"Don't worry. I won't ask for anything in return." Kankuro said quietly. He knew Tenten felt that she should return a favor. She _was _crying on Kankuro…a lot. Kankuro was soaked by the time Tenten stopped crying.

"Thanks." She sniffled for, hopefully, the last time. "You always knew what I was thinking." She sat up and put her hands on her thighs. "I feel like talking now."

Kankuro just nodded.

"So, Neji broke up with me. We had a big fight. I saw him breaking a promise. We argued. He said he didn't love me. I ran and left crying. Now I'm here." Tenten explained, pausing in-between each sentence to take in a breath, making each sentence very emotional.

"Oh." Kankuro sighed. He had to say the inevitable. "Are you going to fix this?"

Tenten crossed her arms. "Why should I?" She sounded pissed off. "What's the point? He said he _didn't_ love me. I mean, we've known each other since we were genin. If he doesn't love me by now, why should he, somehow, magically, start to love me now?" She said fast enough to say it all in one breath. Then she took in a deep breath. "I just don't want to have to keep on waiting for him! I need someone who'll love me now! I'm already 20 for Kami's sake!"

"What are you saying? I'm 21 and _I still_ don't have a girlfriend." Kankuro pointed out as a joke but also to criticize her words.

"Sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" Tenten giggled a little. Kankuro knew how to cheer her up.

Kankuro looked up to the ceiling. "You should fix it. Get back together with him."

Tenten gasped. "R-Really?" She was puzzled. "But…why would you want us together?" She thought about what she just said. "I mean, you're really nice and all, but you hated seeing Neji and me together."

"It's for the best." Kankuro tried to act like the mature adult in the situation. He was still talking with his face looking up at the ceiling.

Tenten tightly crossed her arms. "Well, I don't feel like it." She pouted. Then she loosened her arms and stopped pouting. "Would you go out, on a date, with me?"

"N-Nani?! Are you serious? What about Neji? Like you said, you two have known each other since you were genin."

"I've known _you_ since we were genin. I don't really see a difference." Tenten played.

"Tenten!" Kankuro said in a blaming 'You know you're lying to yourself' kind of tone. "I still remembered what you said. We would never work out. Also, I'm not stupid. I know you'd just be using me to get your mind off Neji and get him jealous."

"Awww! Why do I always go for the smart guys?" She sighed. "I guess if you don't want to go…" She started to say, waiting for Kankuro to interrupt.

Kankuro sighed heavily. "Fine."

"Yay!" Tenten grabbed Kankuro's arm and put her cheek to it. She knew this would slightly irritate Kankuro.

Kankuro sighed again. "Why did I have to turn into such a good guy?"

* * *

Shikamaru opened the door and quickly saw Temari sleeping on the couch. He sighed. 'She sleeps as much as me.' He walked passed Temari not even considering waking her up. 'She'd kill me.' He quickly thought. Instead of sitting on the couch, he went out to the balcony. He sighed. 'The sky's too clear. It's too dark. There are only stars.' He had his elbows on the railing and put his chin on his hands like Temari did earlier. (**A/N:** Great minds think alike, I guess.)

Suddenly, an indescribable sound arose from the inside of the room.

'What the hell was that?' Shikamaru thought. 'Should I turn around and check?' He asked himself. '_You mine as well. You have nothing better to do out here. Like you said, there aren't any clouds to watch._' 'Yeah.' With that, Shikamaru turned around and opened the clear window screen. He saw lying on the ground, Temari. 'What the heck did she do this time?'

A moment later, Temari moaned in pain. She must have fallen off the couch. She moved her finger, barely. She must've been hanging around Shikamaru for too long; she was too lazy to get up. "Shikamaaaruuu!" Temari said in a childish voice. "Help me get up!"

'Did she forget that she's mad at me?' Shikamaru thought. Then he sighed. 'I guess helping her up would be less troublesome than not helping her and suffering the consequences.' He reasoned. He took one of Temari's arms and pulled her up back onto the sofa.

Temari quickly crossed her arms and legs once she sat up on the couch. "Hmph…I still don't like you. Don't forget that."

"I _didn't_." Shikamaru said monotonously. He started to stare at Temari. 'She seems different. It's like she's…trying too hard.

"What are _you_ staring at? I'm not gonna say 'thank you' if that's what you're waiting for.' She said coldly. She was angry.

"Thank you." Shikamaru mumbled.

"What? Why are you thanking me?" Temari still said angrily.

"I'm _thanking _you because you showed me just how troublesome you've become." Shikamaru crossed his arms and leaned on the wall, making him face Temari.

"How many times do I have to say this?! I haven't changed!" Temari shouted with her arms on her sides with her hands curled in fists. "We've were friends before! I was like this before! Nothing's changed!"

"You're wrong." Shikamaru said in a low-tone. He sounded like Neji. "You said you loved me…more than a friend. You've changed since then."

Temari sat still, not saying anything. She couldn't think of a comeback. Then she had anger in her face once again. "Maybe I've always loved you! Maybe I just never told you anything because I thought it would ruin our friendship! I guess I was right!" Then she chuckled angrily a little with her mouth closed. "And you know what else? When I was on the balcony, Kami told me personally to go back inside and talk to you! He literally sent me thunder and lightning. And when I go inside and actually try to work things out, guess what?! You aren't there!" She crossed her arms again. "What's even worse is that I find a note that says you've gone out and that's all. What's the point of writing the note?! I'm not stupid! I think I'd notice that you were gone. You didn't say where you were or how long you were going to be out! You didn't even write your whole name!" Temari shouted out everything that happened. Then she sighed because she said all she needed to say. She pouted. "I just wanted to watch the stars." She slumped and mumbled. Temari was kind of acting childish and overreacting.

"Uhhh…" Shikamaru was speechless. What could he say? Temari yelled out all these things that he couldn't really explain. 'First she gets mad at me for all these random things. Then she says she just wanted to watch the stars? Where does that come from?' '_Idea! Light-bulb! Great idea! I have a wonderful idea! Magnificent, awesome, perfect idea!_' 'Just tell me already!' '_Well someone's impatient today._'

"That's all you can say? Uhhh?! You are just as insensitive as before!" Temari stood up and had her hands straight on her side, hands in fists. She was about to walk into her room when Shikamaru grabbed her arm.

'You better be right about this.' '_Hey, I'm a genius, remember?_' 'Yeah, that's what you said last time when I told Temari I didn't love her.' '_That's in the past! This is now! Trust me!_' Shikamaru slid his hand from Temari's arm to her hand. He held her by the hand and dragged Temari to the balcony. Surprisingly, she didn't resist as much as Shikamaru thought she would.

"Why are we out here?"

"You said you wanted to watch the stars, right?" Shikamaru asked rhetorically. "The stars are out right now, so watch them!" Shikamaru felt like he was teaching a three year-old.

"You actually brought me out here _just_ so I could see the stars?" Temari said, surprised that Shikamaru would go through any trouble to get her what she wanted.

"Yeah. So?" Shikamaru said plainly.

"Uh…thanks?" Temari wasn't sure what else to say. 'Shikamaru brought me out to watch the stars. He would never go through all this trouble.' "Is this a hoax or something?" She said, not fully trusting Shikamaru's weird act.

"Nani? You really think I'd go through all that trouble, so in the end you'd kill me anyways? Why would I do that?" Shikamaru reasoned and defended himself.

"I guess you're right." Temari said. "So you really did this…_just_ for _me_?"

"Yes." Shikamaru answered and sighed. He didn't want to answer the same question multiple times.

"Thank you." Temari said genuinely. She looked up at the stars. They shone brightly. Even though Tokyo had a lot of city lights, it somehow couldn't stop the stars from shining brightly over them.

"Do you forgive me now?" Shikamaru asked, hoping she would say yes. He _did_ go out of his way, through all this trouble of, walking to the balcony with Temari. (**A/N:** That was sarcastic.)

"No." Temari said quickly and lightly. "You should forgive me first." She still said in a light voice. "I shouldn't rush you, since you _are_ just a _kid_." Temari grinned at Shikamaru.

"Hn." Shikamaru crossed his arms. "I forgive you." Shikamaru mumbled.

Temari sighed at his mumble. "Whatever. Now I can forgive you…" She put a finger on her chin. "…but you know what? I don't _feel_ like it. I _don't_ forgive you." Temari played with Shikamaru's emotions.

Shikamaru sighed. "How troublesome." He sighed again. "I'm guessing you still want to be a couple."

"No." Temari answered quickly again. "I told you before…I like hard-to-get guys. You just can't give yourself to me like that!" She put up her index finger to make a statement. "Plus, like you were trying to say, I did change when our relationship changed."

"So we're just friends?" Shikamaru said more as a statement than question.

"No! We're best friends, buddy!" She hugged Shikamaru like a fangirl (no pun intended) just to annoy him.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru muttered.

"What did you say?!" Temari yelled at Shikamaru for calling her troublesome! 'Back to normal. Good times.'

"N-Nothing?" Shikamaru replied nervously, hoping Temari wouldn't kill him. 'She's back to normal; she's still troublesome.'

* * *

Neji was outside, in the hallway, sitting down, and leaning on the wall, facing room 1003. He had his Byukagan on. The famous Hyuuga Neji was spying on Tenten and Kankuro. '_I told you they were close._' 'Shut up. I'm trying to read their lips.' He saw Tenten and Kankuro talking after Tenten finished crying her eyes out. 'She seemed pretty beaten up about it.' '_Of course she did! Think about it!_' 'I wasn't asking you for your opinion.' '_Well it's kind of inevitable for me to hear what you're thinking, so I might as well give you my opinion._' 'Again…shut…up.'

Neji could read the two ninjas' lips very well. 'Kankuro said she should 'fix us'. That's a surprise. Tenten thinks there's no point.' He sighed. A couple more seconds of talking later, Neji almost fainted. Luckily he was strong enough to withstand it. If he was drinking something right now, it'd be coming out of his mouth, nose, and ears. 'She asked him out on a date!' Neji turned a dark red and blue in anger and shock. He almost looked purple. 'How could she do that?! If he says yes, he is personally mine's to kill.' '_Do we need to go to anger management again?_' 'No… Good, he knows that Tenten's just trying to make me jealous and forgettable.' Three seconds later. 'NANI?! He said 'yes'?!' '_KANKURO IS A DEADMAN!_' 'I agree.' Neji told his inner-self very calmly, crossing his arms and getting up. He had heard enough. Kankuro was personally _his_ to kill.

* * *

**A/N: **If you think they're OOC then you're mistaken. You don't know how they feel when they're in love. You don't know how they react to certain events when they're older. Unless you're psychic and know what's going to happen to all the characters four years after the two-year time-skip, if the series even goes that far, then you have no idea that the characters are OOC.

**Song: **How to Deal - Frankie J. and In the End - Linkin Park. I had to put another Linkin Park song in my FanFic! They rock so much! Frankie J. is cool too. I like both songs. I heard How to Deal on the radio a couple weeks ago and thought it would be a great song for my FanFic. How to Deal was supposed to be for all the couples, but after I wrote chapter 10, it was made especially for Neji and Tenten. 'How do you cope when the one you love is with somebody else' is the best like for Tenten and Neji.


	12. Day 3 Mixing It Up

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Sakura would change her hair every few weeks because that pink can get annoying!**

**A/N: **Yay! I'm finally back with another chapter! Aren't you happy?! Well…yeah… If you were wondering if I made 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo, I didn't. I made 40, 360 words. I was running out of ideas; all the ones I had in mind were too complicated.

**Published December 10, 2006**

_Last time on Not a Relaxing Vacation…Neji finds Tenten and Kankuro together…Kiba and Hinata try to work out their 'Naruto' problem…Shikamaru and Temari agree to be just friends…and Sakura, Naruto, Ino, and Chouji are having fun and not having any drama…yet anyways._

**Chapter 12 - Mixing It Up**

"Shouldn't we help them or something?" Ino asked Sakura.

"Umm…how could we help?" Sakura asked back.

"Hmm…" Ino tapped her finger on her lip. "Maybe we should leave 'em here." She suggested.

"Yeah…" Sakura nodded. "Well, let's go, Ino!" Sakura exaggeratedly said loudly so Naruto and Chouji could hear.

Ino and Sakura walked away slowly.

"Wait! Dattebayo!" Naruto reached his arm out to Sakura.

"Yeah, hold up!" Chouji added.

"Yes?" Ino said as she and Sakura turned around smirking.

"Where are you guys going?" Chouji asked.

"Well, since you two were ever-so busy with fighting your way to get the latest issue of Shonen Jump (**A/N:** lol. That's the magazine Naruto is from.)," Ino said lightly and sarcastically. ", Sakura thought we should ditch the two of you." Ino easily blamed.

"Hey! It was your idea, not mine!" Sakura retorted.

"Yeah, yeah." Ino waved her hand at Sakura. "Whatever. Let's just go already! These two," Ino pointed at Chouji and Naruto. ", think their Shonen Jump is more important than the two of us. Let's go." Ino said, ordering Sakura, like a high school clique queen.

Sakura followed raising her head in the air, making a quiet but audible 'humph' sound.

"I think we just pissed them off." Chouji whispered to Naruto.

"We're still ninjas, you know. We could still hear you." Ino pointed out.

"Yeah, we're not naïve like you think we are." Sakura added.

"Let's go…" Ino ordered again.

"If you guys know what's good for you, you'll follow us." Sakura advised, following Ino again.

Naruto and Chouji nodded, scurrying as they followed Ino and Sakura.

* * *

_In room 1001. Temari and Shikamaru are sitting at opposite ends of the couch._

"Sigh…" Temari sighed as she said 'sigh', making a point that she was bored.

"Hn." Shikamaru replied.

"Don't 'hn' to me!" Temari demanded.

Shikamaru sighed.

"Is it _my_ fault that sitting here staring at the wall is the most boring thing you could do…ever?!" Temari complained dramatically.

"No one told you to stay here…" Shikamaru retorted lazily.

Temari glared at Shikamaru. She turned her head away from Shikamaru making a 'humph' sound. "Well, maybe I'm sitting here staring at this boring wall with you so that we could talk!"

"But we just finished talking!" Shikamaru whined.

"Yeah…an hour ago!" Temari's voice turned into a shout.

Shikamaru sighed. "Isn't that enough?" Shikamaru asked, knowing she would say 'no' but hoping for some odd reason she would say 'yes'.

"Does it _look_ like it's enough?" Temari asked.

"For me it is…" Shikamaru replied.

"Well it isn't enough for me! I can't stand silence!" Temari shouted again. "Talk, make a noise, move, do something! It's too damn quiet in here!"

"You're overreacting." Shikamaru stated plainly.

"Finally…at least you're talking." Temari sighed in relief.

Shikamaru sighed. "I don't feel like talking." He declared sluggishly.

"Fine then!" Temari stood up from the couch. Unexpectedly, for Shikamaru, Temari hovered over Shikamaru for a second, and only a second, before she smacked her lips tightly onto Shikamaru's lips. As quick as the kiss, Temari stood up straight and stared at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "What was that for?" He had the slightest hint of blush on his cheeks.

"You said you didn't want to talk…" Temari answered without fully answering.

"I thought we agreed that we're friends…" Shikamaru said.

"We're friends with benefits." Temari corrected, smirking. She looked away from Shikamaru and at the door. She sighed. "Well, since there's nothing to do around here, I guess I'll see what everyone else is doing…I've never been on vacation before…is it always this boring?" Temari asked, still looking at the door.

"I wouldn't know…I've never been on vacation either." Shikamaru responded.

"Well…that's a shame…" Temari commented. She walked to the door and closed it quietly behind her.

_10 minutes later…_

Temari came back into the room and saw Shikamaru in the exact same place he was in ten minutes ago. 'Sometimes I wonder if he gets too lazy to breathe or something…' Temari thought for a quick second. "Hey, genius?"

"Hm?" Shikamaru said lazily.

"Wanna have some fun?"

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow in total confusion.

* * *

'Neji's going to kill me for this…' Kankuro said as he looked at his shoulder, seeing Tenten's signature hair buns sticking out in front of him. He sighed softly. 'I guess this isn't so bad…even though Neji _will_ probably kill me.'

_30 seconds later…_

Kankuro sighed. 'What's there to do now? I can't move, or else Tenten will wake up, and I've gotten too soft to tell her I was bored or something.' Kankuro was truly bored to almost death. 'If Neji isn't going to kill me, boredom will.' He thought. 'Aha!' Kankuro said in his head. 'I hope it's still in here…' The puppeteer searched through his pocket, moving as little as possible so Tenten wouldn't wake up.

After a couple of seconds, Kankuro found what he was looking for. He grinned excitedly as he snickered quietly for a moment. 'Yay!' He cheered in his head.

What exactly did he take out of his pocket? It was none other than a…miniature puppet, of course!

Kankuro grinned as he attached the puppet strings to his fingers. How did he do that without waking up Tenten? Who knows…? But, he _did_ tie the strings to his fingers and started to make his portable pocket-sized puppet dance.

* * *

'For a genius…he knows nothing about girls…but it's predictable for a lazy-ass like himself…he'd be too lazy to try to learn about a 'troublesome' thing such as females…' Temari thought as she smirked at Shikamaru.

'Why is she smirking?' Shikamaru asked himself. 'This is troublesome. She's probably thinking of something bad…I shouldn't have followed her up here…' Shikamaru regretted.

But all was set in place. Neji would call it 'destiny', but I, the narrator, would call it 'planned out this way because that's the way I wrote it'.

Temari opened the door in front of herself. "Here we are, Shika-kun!" Temari said a little too cheerfully.

Shikamaru hesitantly stepped through the door. "Where exactly are we?" Shikamaru asked, though he knew, because he was a genius, they were on the roof.

"What does it look like?" Temari responded.

"Why are we on the roof?" Shikamaru asked. 'Wait a minute…this can't be…'

"I bet you can guess what this is…" Temari grinned from ear to ear as she pointed to, what looked like, a metal wire.

'Kuso (damn it). Why did I have to be right?' Shikamaru swore in his mind. "Do we have to Temari?" Shikamaru whined.

Temari just nodded as she kept a big smile of victory on her face. "The guy's over there." She pointed to an old man with a blue cap on and winked at him. He didn't look like he knew what he was doing…

"Uhh…Temari? Can we…umm…go back downstairs. I like it downstairs." Shikamaru asked, afraid because knowing Temari, she will say no.

"No." Temari said plainly.

'Right again…' Shikamaru sighed. "Fine…we have to ride this thing?"

"No silly…" Temari giggled like a little girl. "_You_ have to ride that and _I'll_ be waiting for you down there." Temari pointed to Shikamaru's ride and then at the landing platform below.

"Why do _I_ have to ride it and you don't?" Shikamaru asked.

'I knew he'd ask that.' Temari smirked. "Because I was thinking about doing it with you but this seemed like more fun. If you're really a crybaby…oh wait, you are." Temari said sarcastically. "I guess…okay…I'll go down with you…"

Shikamaru exhaled a loud breath of relief.

"But this isn't helping you! You're going to stay the little lazy genius crybaby you are." Temari waved her index finger back and forth at Shikamaru.

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru muttered.

* * *

"Sakura-chan! Can I sit down? I'm getting tired!" Naruto whined like a little child.

"No! You are going to walk and keep walking until I tell you to stop." Sakura ordered, taking a chip and leisurely throwing it into her mouth.

"Awww! Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined even more.

"Naruto!" Sakura's eyes burned with anger.

"Y-Yes, Sakura-chan! Running!" Naruto ran around the building like a wild man.

"Wow, Sakura, I'm surprised." Ino complimented.

"Thank you." Sakura nodded.

"Yeah. I thought you looked hideous before, but you look just terrible when you're angry." Ino changed her compliment into an insult.

"Shut up, Ino-pig!" Sakura argued to Ino.

"I'm just speaking the truth, billboard-brow!" Ino argued back.

"Sakura, I already did ten laps, can I-" Naruto asked.

"NO!" Sakura and Ino shouted together.

"Awww…" Naruto continued to run around the mall. "Sakura-chan can be really mean sometimes. Sometimes I think she hangs ar-" He muttered, when he grew tired and started to walk, but was cut off.

Naruto was pulled away from the sidewalk and in the shade of a tree.

"Naruto, you're kind of a baka (idiot)." Chouji informed as he munched on some chips.

"Nani (what)?! I'm not a baka (idiot), dattebayo!" Naruto shouted.

"Shhh! Ino and Sakura might hear us." Chouji whispered. "You should have stayed here instead of actually running around this place." Chouji stuffed another handful of chips in his mouth. "I stayed here and kept cool under the shade."

"But Sakura-chan would beat me up!" Naruto defended.

"Who cares? Sakura's too busy fighting with Ino to remember to beat you up. She'd be too busy trying to beat up Ino." Chouji reasoned.

"True. Sakura-chan _is_ very busy arguing with Ino." Naruto nodded.

"So let's just sit here and wait until they stop fighting. Then we can spray ourselves with water from the fountain and run a lap." Chouji suggested.

"Hai, dattebayo!" Naruto grinned.

Chouji nodded. "Chips?" He reached his hand, holding a bag of chips, out to Naruto.

"Domo (thank you)!" Naruto continued to grin as he took a big handful and stuffed it all in his mouth.

_10 seconds later…_

"Are we still going on a date with these two?" Naruto asked.

"I have no idea. I guess so…go ask!" Chouji responded.

"Why do I have to ask?" Naruto asked.

"Because you're the one who wanted to know in the first place!" Chouji explained.

Naruto sighed. "Okay…but if I don't come back, you can have all of the ramen in my apartment." He joked.

"I hope you come back…and not come back at the same time…I'm confused." Chouji stated.

"Me too, dattebayo!" Naruto nodded. He was smart enough to realize that he could jump over the mall and hand on the other side so it would seem like he ran around the mall when he really didn't. 'If only I thought of that before…' He thought. Naruto walked up to Sakura, who was sitting on a bench next to Ino with her arms crossed in frustration.

"Uh…Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"Hey! Aren't you supposed to be running?!" Sakura stood up as she yelled angrily at Naruto.

"S-S-Sakura-chan!" Naruto stuttered, waving his hands frantically in front of him. "I was just wondering if we were going out to dinner tonight together." Naruto said.

"Oh," Sakura's expression went from anger to contentment. "Yeah, of course. Why?" Sakura asked politely.

"Oh, no reason." Naruto scratched the back of his head again.

"You didn't think that because I made you run a couple times around the mall means that I don't like you, did you?" Sakura asked.

"Uhh…no, of course not!" Naruto laughed nervously.

"Good!" Sakura smiled even though she knew Naruto was lying.

"Hey. Hate to butt-in, well actually I like butting-in, but anyways, where's Chouji? I haven't seen him for a while." Ino asked Sakura and Naruto.

"Come to think of it, you're right. Where _is_ Chouji?" Sakura asked herself.

"Uhh…" Naruto said, not knowing what else to say.

"Na-ru-to…" Sakura groaned angrily. "Where's Chouji?" She asked with her scary fiery eyes of hers.

"Don't worry! He's over there in the shady part of the tree, dattebayo!" Naruto pointed under the branch of a shady tree, where Chouji was easily visible.

"Chouji!" Ino shouted as she stomped over to Chouji. "Chouji! Come on! Didn't you run?" Ino knew the answer but she just had to make Chouji feel bad.

"No…" Chouji mumbled, not looking at Ino in the eye.

Ino sighed. "Let's go, Chouji. You're lucky I was arguing with Sakura so much or else you'd be getting a really long lecture from me written by Shikamaru."

"Yes, Ino." Chouji was about to push himself up off of the ground but Ino's hand reached out in front of him. Chouji stared blankly at it.

"Come on. I don't have all day, you know!" Ino said playfully.

Chouji smiled happily as he took Ino's hand and stood up. "Domo (thank you), Ino."

"No problem. Just don't get all mushy. It's no bi-" Ino started to say, but it was too late.

Chouji had given Ino a big bear hug and swayed left and right. "Awww, Ino. Those lectures I told Shikamaru to give you finally worked!" Chouji was almost crying tears of joy for this huge milestone.

"Hey! It's not that big of an achievement! I can be nice when I want to be!" Ino said.

Chouji let go of Ino. "I know, but you barely ever want to be nice!" Chouji sustained his proud happy smile.

"Well, let's go…Sakura!" Ino waved in Sakura's direction, getting her attention.

Sakura and Naruto ran towards Ino and Chouji.

"Yeah?" Sakura asked.

"So where are we going exactly?" Ino asked.

"I have no idea…" Sakura replied. She started to poke her finger on her chin.

"Somewhere casual or formal?" Ino asked to anyone.

"I don't know." Naruto answered.

"Doesn't matter." Chouji shrugged.

"Whatever." Sakura shrugged.

Ino sighed. "Well we have to make a decision!" Ino said. "Fine, it'll be casual. I don't feel like dressing up too much today anyways." Ino decided for everyone. "So where should we go? Hmm…" Ino tapped her chin with her finger.

By coincidence, and the author's choice, two pedestrians happened to pass by as they were having a loud conversation. "Yeah, 22nd has the best burgers in Japan!" One of them said.

"I want a burger!" Naruto said. He was very happy because he thought the idea had 'popped' into his head.

"_That_ was predictable." Sakura commented Naruto.

"Yeah…okay…I guess we'll eat at a burger place then." Ino confirmed.

"Maybe we should invite Hinata and Kiba…" Sakura suggested.

"Yeah, probably. They'll feel left out and they barely ever have anything to do by themselves…" Ino added.

"And Kiba loves hamburgers!" Chouji added as well.

"Dattebayo!" Naruto 'added'. He didn't want to be left out.

* * *

_Back at the hotel roof…_

'I don't want to do this…it's too troublesome to get a heart attack when you're this high above ground…is this thing even safe?' Shikamaru asked himself as the old man harnessed him onto the metal wire. 'I don't even like heights that much. There's not even anything stopping me. I just slide down from a thin piece of metal…that has to be unsafe!' Shikamaru depressingly sighed.

"Ready?" The old man in the blue cap said.

"No, not really." Shikamaru said nervously. "Is this thing on tight enough." Shikamaru pointed to the harness connected to the metal wire which keeps him from falling onto the ground and splattering everywhere. (**A/N:** I didn't exaggerate that much when I wrote that.) "It doesn't feel very tight."

The old man either ignored Shikamaru or didn't hear him. "Okay, I'll let you go now." The old man was about to push Shikamaru off of the roof.

"Wait, wait!" Shikamaru said loudly. He was actually shouting. It was troublesome to shout, but even more troublesome to go 'kersplat' on the ground from more than one hundred stories above ground.

"Hmmm?" The old man tilted his head at Shikamaru.

"Temari, I thought you said you'd do this too!" Shikamaru said.

Temari walked closer to Shikamaru and the old man. "Actually, I didn't genius." Temari grinned. "I knew you would think that. You were too scared to think straight, huh? I said I would go down with you…and I will!" Temari looked over at the old man and then back at Shikamaru. "Don't worry. If you die, I'll sue this hotel for everything its worth and make myself rich!" Temari grinned even wider than before.

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Nani (what)? You're not going to save me?" Shikamaru sounded slightly offended but mostly because he was frustrated.

"How would that benefit me? I can't get your money, so I might as well sue the hotel and get some money!" Temari grinned deviously at Shikamaru. "See you, Shika-kun." Temari gave a small wave to Shikamaru. She turned to the old man and gave him a 'thumbs-up'.

"Have fun!" The blue capped man said before he pushed Shikamaru off of the roof and downhill towards a grassy landing.

"Thanks, Hiroshi!" Temari waved to the old man right before she took out a scroll, bit her thumb and wiped it on the scroll, and quickly performed a hand seal. "I've been missing this…" Temari picked up her signature large fan, opened it up, and flew down (**A/N:** It's the same technique she used in the Chuunin exams.) to Shikamaru.

"Temari! This is one freaky ride. I don't like gliding on a metal wire!" Shikamaru complained.

Temari chuckled with a hint of evil.

"What are you laughing at?" Shikamaru said confused.

"I knew you would be afraid, but I didn't think you were _this_ much of a scaredy-cat." Temari continued to chuckle.

"You knew I would be afraid?" Shikamaru asked, still confused due do his fear of 'kersplatting'.

"Of course! I think you forget sometimes that I am not as smart as you, but I'm as close as anyone's ever going to get." Temari crossed her arms as she pouted at Shikamaru. "I knew that you would be scared to do something as dangerous as this, especially with that old man. His name's Hiroshi by the way."

"Nani (what)? You planned this all out to torture me?" Shikamaru eyes widened with bewilderment.

"Yeah…I didn't even know Hiroshi worked here. He looks old but he's really 'youthful' as Rock Lee would say." Temari said. "Where do you think I went for ten whole minutes? Seriously, Shikamaru, I wonder sometimes if you really _are_ a genius." Temari shook her head.

"Temari!" Shikamaru cried out.

"Fine…if you really don't want to keep falling, let go and I'll catch you." Temari winked.

"Temari! Shikamaru cried out again.

Temari sighed. "Crybaby." She muttered.

Being the smart genius he was, Shikamaru found a way to un-strap himself from his harness. "Okay." Shikamaru let go of his strap and fell quickly down. "Temari!"

Temari sighed again. "Oh, fine." She "flew" down to where Shikamaru was and with her fan, she caught him just in time before he would be going 'kersplat'.

Shikamaru sighed heavily. "You had to wait till the last second to catch me!" He shouted.

Temari just nodded.

Shikamaru sighed again. "You're troublesome…"

"And don't I know it!" Temari grinned.

* * *

**A/N: **Yay! Aren't you happy I put in more NaruSaku and InoCho?! No? Well, oh well…I'll fit in everyone, other than ShikaTema, evenly next chapter. ShikaTema gets like half of the chapter, okay?! Okay!

**Song:** Mixing It Up is surprisingly not a song title…I was too lazy to look for a good title, so yeah…next chapter will have a title…I think…


	13. Day 3 Familiar Realm

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do own this story though, which is pretty cool.**

**A/N: **Sorry for the lateness! I went to Disneyland Saturday morning and came back Wednesday night. I had eight pages finished but didn't have time to finish it all Saturday morning.

For those who wondered what the heck Shikamaru was riding in the last chapter, here's an explanation…_I don't know the actual name for it, but I know it's a real ride thing. So, it's basically ski-lift sliding down, except you're not sitting down, but hanging from a metal wire. So, you're sliding down a metal wire, being strapped like you strap a parachute. Yeah, that's the best way I can explain it. I wanted to ride it when I was in Thailand, but sadly, I was only in the 2nd grade, so I was too young._

**Published December 21, 2006**

**Chapter 13 - Familiar Realm**

_Ino and Sakura are back at the hotel in their room, 1006…_

"Chouji eats too much…" Ino stated.

"Naruto eats too much too…" Sakura added. "How could they leave us for food?"

"I know…" Ino responded.

_After 5 minutes of silent boredom…_

"Hey, Ino, if we invite Hinata and Kiba to dinner, won't the others feel left out? I mean, especially Rock Lee and Kankuro. They don't have a girl to go out with." Sakura pointed out.

"But if we invite everyone, it's going to be so…non-romantic…" Ino couldn't seem to find the right word.

"Well, it's already not going to be that romantic. How romantic can it get in a burger joint?" Sakura asked.

"Haven't you seen the movies? Eating burgers can be the most romantic experience in your life." Ino said.

Sakura looked at Ino with disbelief. "Whatever…I guess we don't have to invite Rock Lee or Kankuro." Sakura accepted the fact. "But if their feelings are hurt when they're sitting in their rooms all alone wondering what everybody else is doing and why nobody asked them if they wanted to join in, I'm blaming you." Sakura pointed out.

Ino sighed. "No problem, Sakura! They can spend time with each other."

"Sure, Ino…you just keep thinking that…" Sakura replied.

* * *

_In the elevator going up to floor 100._

"Wasn't that fun, Shika-kun?" Temari grinned.

"Not at all…and don't call me Shika-kun." Shikamaru said lazily.

"Awww…are you still angry that I was smart enough to plan all of this without you realizing it?" Temari pouted.

Shikamaru sighed. "You're so troublesome…"

"Awww, thank you!" Temari said, knowing that Shikamaru would dislike her comment.

Shikamaru sighed again. 'Why did our room have to be so high up?' Shikamaru asked himself.

"So, Shikamaru…how's Konoha?" Temari said, striking up another topic.

"Eh." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Watch any good clouds lately?" Temari raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru.

"Yeah, I guess…" Shikamaru shrugged again.

"Shikamaru…you're such a lazy-ass! Can't you give me better answers?" Temari complained.

"Nope…" Shikamaru said plainly.

Temari sighed. "There you go again. But whatever…you're not all that great anyways…"

"Then why do you talk to me so much?" Shikamaru asked.

"Because you're the only one I can easily have an intellectual conversation with…you don't see me talking to Naruto much other than the usual insult…" Temari explained.

"What about Neji?" Shikamaru asked.

"Are you serious? _Me_ talking to _Neji_? He's too intense and quiet."

"I'm not intense and quiet?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"You are, but you react better than Neji." Temari clarified. "Let's just say, you can take a joke."

"What about Tenten? She's pretty smart." Shikamaru asked.

"True, but I have to act a certain way around her. I can't be myself, you know? But with you…I can be me because you're too much of a lazy-ass to do anything about it!" Temari grinned.

Shikamaru sighed.

There was a 'ding' from the elevator, sounding that they were on the 100th floor.

'Saved by the bell…' Shikamaru sighed and he stepped out o the elevator.

Temari stopped walking once she stepped out of the elevator. "Speaking of Neji, isn't that him over there?" Temari pointed to the Hyuuga, sitting on the ground, glaring at the room across from him.

* * *

'This is getting boring…when will Tenten wake up? If she sleeps for too long, she'll never be able to sleep at night.' Kankuro sighed quietly.

"I'm awake you know." Tenten said softly.

"Nani (what)?!" Kankuro, by his subconscious mind, quickly slid away, to the edge of the couch, to get away from Tenten, in shock.

Tenten was still on Kankuro's shoulder, so when Kankuro moved away, Tenten's body fell on the couch. "Ow." She said sarcastically. "You get scared too easily." She said after she pushed herself up.

Kankuro crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at Tenten like a little child. "You were awake the whole time?"

"Of course. I don't sleep _that_ long." Tenten said.

"Well, why didn't you tell me before?!" Kankuro almost shouted.

"What's the fun of that?" Tenten giggled. "Oh, and that was a pretty cute puppet you had."

"Tha-hey! You saw Nezumi!" Kankuro's eyes grew big, realizing that Tenten saw him playing with one of his puppets.

Tenten giggled some more. "Nezumi, as in, mouse?"

"Yeah, so what?" Kankuro pouted as he spoke.

"Nothing…it's just so cute and small…I didn't think you were that kind of guy…" Tenten went full out burst into laughter. She couldn't contain it any longer.

"It's not that funny! And what do you mean by 'that kind of guy'? What kind of guy is that?" Kankuro shouted.

"Nothing, nothing…just forget I said anything." Tenten slowly eased her laughter.

Kankuro sat back down next to Tenten. "Does it remind you of someone? I named him after you." Kankuro deviously grinned at Tenten.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Tenten said sarcastically. "I don't see why everyone compares me to a mouse…just because of my hairstyle." Tenten sighed. "I mean, a lot of girls have this hairstyle too. You don't see their friends nicknaming them 'mouse'.

Kankuro put his index finger up. "Well, there's a simple explanation for _that_." He started. "You actually look like a mouse, even without those buns." Kankuro grinned jokingly.

"Again. Very funny." Tenten crossed her arms. "I don't see how I look like a mouse."

"You should change your clothes. You wear the same style clothes every single day." Kankuro said snottily. (**A/N:** I didn't even know that was a word.)

"Don't change the subject! And don't be telling _me_ what to wear. _You're_ the one who wears the same black jumpsuit everyday. How do you survive in that in the desert with that outfit anyways?" Tenten asked loudly, changing the subject even more without knowing it.

"Hmph. I can live with it." Kankuro mumbled with his arms crossed.

"And you say _I_ have problems." Tenten muttered.

"I never said you had problems." Kankuro defended.

"Well you might've as well." Tenten said.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"I don't need this anyways. It's such a hassle being with you." Kankuro stood up.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean." Tenten stood up as well.

"It means that you're not worth the effort! You don't care about me! You just want to get your mind off of that Hyuuga! Isn't that right?!" Kankuro yelled dramatically.

"Well, you're a baka (idiot)! How could you think I would actually go back to that loser?! He doesn't care about me like you do! _Maybe_ I was just taking my time with you because I didn't want things to end up like last time!" Tenten yelled furiously back at Kankuro.

"Maybe you're just saying all those things so I'll stay with you until Neji comes. Even if that's not true, you should know that maybe I don't want us to go slowly! _Maybe_ I want us to go as quick as possible so if we this _doesn't_ work out, it'll be quick and painless!" Kankuro angrily continued to yell.

"That's a good idea! Maybe we should go out and get this over with quickly! Then we can see if there really is something between us or if it's nothing!" Tenten couldn't stop being angry, though her words weren't making sense with her tone.

"Great! But how are we going to tell Neji about all of this?!" Kankuro continued to yell as well, which made his words seem as much of nonsense as Tenten.

"I have no idea! But I do have I idea!" Tenten slowly stopped her anger, but still kept on shouting.

"What's that?!" Kankuro followed, realizing they weren't arguing anymore.

"We should stop shouting at each other." Tenten said in her normal tone.

Kankuro chuckled. "Yeah, I kind of figured that out."

* * *

"Yup." Shikamaru replied.

Temari sighed dramatically. "There you go again with your 'simple, nothing other than a one word yes or no' answer.

Shikamaru shrugged.

Temari continued to walk as Shikamaru followed.

'Oh no." Shikamaru thought as Temari passed by room 1001. 'She's going to butt-in…'

'Let's see what little Neji's up to.' Temari smirked at the thought. When she finally reached Neji, she decided to sit down next to him. "Hey, Neji." She said a little too girly and politely.

"Hn." Neji said as a greeting. He didn't want to be distracted by someone. He didn't even know that it was Temari.

Unfortunately for Neji, Temari felt a little frustrated that Neji didn't greet her. 'Hn' isn't really a greeting, unless it's Neji, but Temari couldn't understand his language.

"Hello! I'm talking to you, here!" Temari waved her hand in front of Neji's face.

"Hn." Neji turned off his Byakugan and glared at Temari evilly. "I was busy." He stated coldly.

"Busy butting into someone's business, Byakugan boy?" Temari smirked.

"What's it to you?" Neji crossed his arms.

"Nothing…" Temari said lightly. "…if you tell me what's going on in there." Temari lifted her eyebrows, insinuating something.

"Why should I tell you?" Neji said, looking forward at the door across from him.

Temari looked at where Neji was looking. "Well, you know…maybe I'll just waltz into that room," Temari pointed to room directly across from herself and Neji. ", and tell whoever's in there that, oh, I don't know, maybe, you were spying on him/her/them…" Temari said easily.

"Your brother…" Neji muttered, keeping his cool.

"My brother? You mean Kankuro?" Temari asked out of disbelief.

"Don't say his name…" Neji muttered angrily.

"Why not? What did he do this time?" Temari put her hands on her hips and acted like she was Kankuro's mother.

"You don't want to know." Neji advised.

"It can't be that bad…come on! I can take it." Temari persuaded.

"Make sure Shikamaru doesn't hear." Neji said, keeping his head looking at the door.

"Hm?" Temari raised an eyebrow. She turned her head to Shikamaru and turned back to Neji. "Okay." She said to Neji. Temari turned her head back to Shikamaru again. "Shikamaru! Get your lazy-ass out of here!" Temari commanded loudly to Shikamaru. Who knows how she could be so loud, yet not loud enough for anyone in the hotel rooms to hear.

"Fine, fine…" Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets and walked back to room 1001. Once he opened the door with his hotel card and the door shut tight, Temari turned back to Neji.

"Okay, so what is it?" Temari said, sounding anxious.

"Tenten…and him…your brother…are in there…" Neji said, sounding as 'emo' as you can possibly get.

"Nani (what)?!" Temari's eyes widened.

"Shh…" Neji shushed Temari.

"No way! How could he do this?! Is he _trying_ to get hurt again?! What's wrong with him? Does he even _remember_ last time?!" Temari whispered loudly. "Nande (why)?!" She complained hopelessly like it was going to be the end of the world.

"Baka (idiot)." Neji glared at the wall. His Byakugan was turned off, but he could still remember clearly everything he had seen (which is everything you've read so far).

"Yeah, Kankuro _is_ a baka (idiot)." Temari agreed. "But wait…I thought Tenten was with you…"

"She _was_…" Neji continued to glare at the door.

"What happened?" Temari wanted to know.

"Don't ask…" Neji warned.

"Fine…" Temari said in a 'stick out your tongue because it's your loss' kind of way.

"Can you help me?" Neji asked, still staring at the door.

"Help with what exactly?" Temari raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Go in there and get rid of Kankuro." Neji stated.

"Now when you say "get rid of Kankuro", do you mean get him out of the room or kill him?" Temari asked. "I'm fine with either." She shrugged. "That baka (idiot) deserves what's comin' to him."

"Just get him out of there. I want to kill him myself." Neji glared even harder than he did before if that was possible.

"Fine…" Temari pushed herself up off the floor. "You'd better leave." She advised.

Neji nodded. He stood up and walked to his room.

Once Neji was out of sight, Temari went to her room, 1001.

"Hn." Shikamaru said, as in an 'I know you're here but I don't want to ask you about Neji because I'm a lazy-ass Chuunin' type of 'hn'.

Temari stuck out her tongue at Shikamaru. Then she walked, as she smirked, towards the door separating room 1001 from 1003.

'Oh no…she's a crazy woman…' Shikamaru thought as Temari had her hand on the doorknob.

"Here we go…" She said before she turned the doorknob and walked right in on Kankuro and Tenten. "Hey! Tenten! I didn't expect to see you here." Temari sounded friendlier than Temari ever needed or wanted to be as she acted like she was clueless.

"Hey Temari!" Tenten giggled nervously. "Umm…what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I should be asking you that very same question…but I'm here to check up on Kanky over there." Temari pointed to Kankuro.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow. "You came all the way over _here_," He pointed to the ground. ", just to see _me_?" Kankuro pointed to himself. He highly disbelieved that Temari would check up on him unless she knew something was going on.

"Yes, of course. That's the caring sisterly sister I am." Temari said proudly.

"Sure…" Kankuro went along with Temari.

"Good…_so_…" Temari said mischievously. "What'cha doin'?" She said deviously.

Kankuro crossed his arms. "None of your business." Kankuro mumbled and then stuck his tongue out at Temari.

Temari glared at Kankuro. "Awww, is little Kanky a little embarrassed?" Temari said in a babyish voice.

Shikamaru sighed in his head. 'She's gone crazy.'

"But anyways, since Tenten's here, I'd like to speak with you outside, please, Kankuro." Temari smiled politely which was almost creepy.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow. 'What is she up to?' He thought. He turned to Tenten and whispered in her ear, "I don't know what she's up to but I'll be back…I hope." He was truthfully confused and wondered what Temari was planning but Kankuro hesitantly stood up anyways.

"Come on Kanky! I don't have all day!" Temari walked towards Kankuro and dragged him out of the room by the arm. "I need to talk to you too, Tenten! You can chat with Shikamaru while I'm gone." Temari said while dragging Kankuro.

Once the door was closed, there was absolute silence in room 1003.

"Ummm…so…" Tenten tried to chat.

"Hn." Shikamaru said.

"Hey! I heard that!" Tenten notified. "I think this is troublesome too."

Shikamaru looked surprisingly at Tenten.

Tenten noticed Shikamaru's surprise. "Yeah, I can understand your language. I've been around Neji for so many years; I know the difference between a 'hn' and a '_hn_'." Tenten explained.

Shikamaru didn't respond. There was more silence in the room.

Then, Shikamaru turned around. Then he turned back to Tenten. "Just to let you know. Be prepared if Kankuro doesn't come back for a while." Shikamaru warned.

"Yeah; and how do _you_ know?" Tenten asked in disbelief.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'm a genius. It's what I do." The genius turned around and closed the door quietly.

* * *

_Outside in the hallway…_

"Are you crazy?! Do you know what you've gotten yourself into?!" Temari shouted at Kankuro.

"Of course I do!" Kankuro shouted back. "I know what happened last time. It's not going to happen again! She said so herself."

"No way, Kankuro! I'm not going to let you make the same mistake again! Do you remember how much counseling and psychology sessions you had to take?! If Gaara wasn't the Kazekage, we'd be dead broke right now! Remember how many weeks you turned 'emo' and even Gaara was concerned about you?" Temari disciplined.

"It's not going to happen again!" Kankuro repeated.

"How do you know, Kankuro? Huh? How do you know?!" Temari asked angrily. She was just being the older sister she always had to be, taking care of her little brother. She genuinely cared about Kankuro and didn't want him to get hurt again.

"I just know!" Kankuro answered.

"Fine. I let you make your own decision and now that you've made it, you're going to get your consequence." Temari informed. "Okay, you can come out now; I know you're watching." Temari said loud enough for a certain someone to hear.

"Kankuro." A voice said from behind Kankuro.

"Kuso (damn it)." Kankuro swore. "Temari…" He glared at her evilly.

"It's for your own good, Kankuro." Temari looked angrily, yet at the same time, sad and a little disappointed, at Kankuro. "You should've listened to your big sis'." Temari walked to her room and pulled her key in and out of the key slot. She looked over at Kankuro and shook her head before she opened the door. It was very dramatic.

Once the door was closed tightly, it was only Neji and Kankuro.

* * *

_Back in 1001…_

Temari walked into the room, looking slightly depressed. Her mind was distracted, which almost never happened.

Shikamaru saw Temari's saddened face. "I warned Tenten about Kankuro." He said, not looking at Temari, but instead at the window.

"Good…so I'm guessing you didn't talk to her." Temari smirked at Shikamaru. She was very good at hiding her true feelings. Her acting was definitely top notch.

"Just talk to her already." Shikamaru yawned. "Don't butt in too much. It's too troublesome." Shikamaru smirked back at Temari.

Temari chuckled. "Did I ask for your opinion?" She walked towards the connecting doors and opened it.

"Hey, Tenten!" Temari smiled cheerfully.

"Hey Temari." Tenten smiled politely.

Temari walked over to Tenten, still smiling and being as cheerful as anyone could pretend to be, and sat down on the couch, next to her. "So…let's talk."

* * *

**A/N: **This was a short chapter, yes, I know. I didn't put KibaHina in here! NaruSaku and InoCho were so short! What's up with that?! Well, I thought I should give you another chapter before people start to get impatient. Definite KibaHina in the next chapter! I'm writing a one shot for Christmas, making a YouTube Naruto winter holiday slideshow, and drawing winter holiday deviantART for deviantART contest clubs. Yeah, I'm getting pretty busy.

**Song:** Familiar Realm by CKY. It's a pretty good song. The lyrics are really good. I've never heard of CKY, but now that I have, I like them a lot. "If they've told you who to be, you've entered a familiar realm… invaded by a swarm of confliction", it kind of fits with Kankuro and Tenten. I was trying to find a song where the lyrics say something like 'getting into other people's businesses or 'messing with other's love lives' or something like that.


	14. Day 3 Friend or Foe

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, the anime fillers would have ended by now.**

**A/N: **Happy holidays to everyone! I finished my deviantART fanart and FanFiction Christmas one-shot. All I need to do now is finish my YouTube video! Yay! So close! Thanks for the very kind reviews from everyone!

**Published December 23, 2006**

**Chapter 14 - Friend or Foe**

"Hinata! I'm bored!" Kiba whined 'ever-so' loudly.

"Oh, shush! You're such a baby." Hinata giggled jokingly.

"But Hinata!" Kiba whined some more.

"No buts!" Hinata pointed her index finger at Kiba.

Kiba grinned; he laughed out loud at Hinata's choice of words.

Hinata sighed and crossed her arms. "Ugh, you're so immature sometimes." She stuck out her tongue. Then she laughed along with Kiba.

"That's what I love about you Hinata." Kiba smirked.

Hinata crossed her arms across her chest and made a 'humph' sound. "Oh, so you get all mushy with me _now_? You're such a fluff." Hinata acted.

Kiba crossed his arms as well. "Ha. Ha." Kiba said sarcastically. "Sometimes you're better off stuttering."

Hinata scoffed. "Oh, really?" She smirked deviously at Kiba. "W-We'll let's s-see about t-t-that." Hinata stuttered in her 12 year-old voice right before she took a pillow from the couch and hit Kiba on the head with it.

Kiba put his hands on his head. "Ow." Kiba said, though it didn't really hurt. "Gosh! You hang around with Temari for a _day_, become best of friends, and she teaches you how to whip a guy till he's a puppy."

"Oh yeah." Hinata nodded in triumph. She plopped herself down onto the couch and let go of the pillow.

Kiba looked at Hinata nervously.

Hinata looked up at Kiba. "What? I'm not going to hit you with it _again_." Hinata crossed her arms. "I'm not _that_ much like Temari." She pouted.

Kiba smiled. He plopped down next to Hinata. "I love it when you pout." He grinned.

"Of course you do. If you didn't, then I would have to do this." Hinata grabbed the pillow again and hit Kiba on the shoulder this time.

"Ow! Hey! I thought you said you weren't that much like Temari!" Kiba argued.

Hinata smirked. "I'm not. I learned that from Sakura." Hinata's smirk turned into a grin.

Kiba sighed. "Your friends can be such a bad influence. I wonder how Naruto and Shikamaru handle it."

"They're strong." Hinata said plainly.

"Stronger than me? I don't think so." Kiba shook his head.

Hinata giggled. "_Much_ stronger than you." She said playfully.

"Sure, whatever. But we both know I could whip their asses any day." Kiba smirked, showing his teeth, which gleamed like Rock Lee's.

* * *

"Hey, you guys." Sakura said slowly.

"Hmm?" Ino turned back to Sakura. "What is it? We just got to the hotel."

"I have a bad feeling. There's something going on in there and it's not good." Sakura backed away slowly from the hotel. "Seriously, something bad is going to or is already going on in there. I think we should stay out here."

"Sakura! Don't be such a baby. I don't feel any bad chakra." Ino disagreed.

"Actually, I feel it too, Ino." Naruto agreed with Sakura.

"Oh, come on! It's all psychology! Chouji, you don't believe her, do you?" Ino turned to Chouji.

"Actually…" Chouji scratched the back of his head.

"Fine! If you guys don't want to go in, I'll just go in myself. Humph." Ino turned towards the hotel doors and started walking.

"Ino!" Chouji grabbed Ino's arm before she could take another step.

"What is it, Chouji?! Don't say Sakura's right about all of this. It's ridiculous!" Ino retorted.

"But she might be right. Why would she lie about this?" Chouji asked.

"Because she's a mean and cruel person who likes to play nasty jokes on innocent others." Ino said quickly. She must've had that in her mind for a while.

"Uh…well…" Chouji tried to think of a good response to Ino's answer.

"That's ludicrous!" Sakura interrupted. "I wouldn't do anything like that!"

"Whatever, Sakura." Ino turned her head away from Sakura.

"Why don't we go out and talk this over some ramen!" Naruto suggested.

"Shut up!" Sakura and Ino shouted at Naruto at the same time.

Naruto pouted. "S-Sorry, Ino. S-Sorry, Sakura-chan." He apologized sadly.

"I really don't think we should go in there!" Sakura said back on-topic.

"Why not?! I don't see anything going on in there. Nobody's screaming in horror. I think you're just overreacting, Sakura." Ino reasoned.

"But I'm not! _Something_ is going on in there. I can feel an angered person. It's like someone's going to die or something." Sakura explained. "Anger and pain, deceit and betrayal, regret and second thoughts. I don't know how or why, but I just know something bad is in there. It's not our problem, so I don't want to get into whatever it is."

"Hey! Wait a minute! Even _if_ this were all true, we are still ninja, and we need to protect whoever's in there." Ino replied irately.

"Yeah! Dattebayo!" Naruto agreed with Ino this time.

"Ino's right." Chouji nodded in agreement.

"But that's the problem. I think I know who's in there." Sakura added. "But I'm not sure!" She quickly said.

"Well, who do you think it is?" Ino said seriously.

"I-I don't really know how to say this…I don't even _want_ to say this…" Sakura stuttered as she stared blankly at the top of the hotel, where the 100th floor was.

"Well? Just say it!" Ino said impatiently.

"Up there." Sakura pointed to the 100th floor.

"That's…that's…" Chouji said.

"It's close to our rooms." Ino calculated.

"It _is_ our rooms." Sakura said dramatically. "It's on our floor, in the hallway."

"What?!" Ino spattered.

"Nani (what)?!" Naruto and Chouji said in unison in shock.

"And you won't believe who it is…" Sakura said, sounding monotonous like a zombie.

"W-Who?" Ino gulped loudly. She was almost afraid to find out.

"…" Sakura stayed silent.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, concerned.

"It's…" Sakura paused. Then she said in the softest audible whisper, "…Neji."

* * *

"W-What do you want to talk about?" Tenten asked nervously. 'Damn it. It's probably about Kankuro and me.'

"I want to talk to you about Kankuro." Temari answered seriously.

'Kuso (damn it)! Why did I have to be right?' Tenten sighed in her head. "Oh…umm, okay."

"First of all…" Temari started politely. "…what the heck are you thinking?!" She shouted at Tenten.

"What's wrong?" Tenten asked, dumbfounded.

'Calm down, Temari.' Shikamaru thought in the other room. He could hear every word Temari shouted.

'Compose yourself…' Temari thought in her head. "Look, Kankuro's my brother." She said as if Tenten didn't already know. Then, Temari spoke in a more understanding voice, "He's my _little_ brother. It's _my_ responsibility to take care of him. You hurt him once and I don't want to see him hurt again. That's all."

"Oh. Well I know you're concerned about Kankuro and me, but that won't happen again. I won't break his heart again." Tenten assured.

"How can you say that?! You don't know if this'll happen again or not! Why don't you just go back to Neji?!" Temari yelled frustratingly at Tenten.

'Harsh.' Shikamaru thought in the other room.

"Neji doesn't love me!" Tenten shouted back.

"I'd hate to tell you this Tenten, but you're as dull as a doorknob!" Temari continued to yell. "Neji loves you! Anyone could see that! But you were too blind and dumb to see that!"

'Gosh, Temari. You have to be so mean?' Shikamaru said, feeling sorry for Tenten.

"He doesn't love me! Kankuro loves me! Neji's the dumb one. If he loved me, why didn't he say so? I _know_ Kankuro loves me!" Tenten shouted back.

"Tenten, don't make me tell you things that'll break your heart." Temari said coldly.

"What do you mean?" Tenten said in her normal volume.

"If you still choose Kankuro over Neji, I'll have to tell you something about Kankuro." Temari continued to speak lowly.

"What are you talking about?!" Tenten started to get frustrated.

"Kankuro's married!" Temari hollered.

"What?!" Tenten shouted with disbelief.

'Nani (what)?!' Shikamaru was shocked. 'Well, I didn't see _that_ one coming.'

"He can't be married!" Tenten argued.

"Well, he's technically not married yet, but he's engaged. He's in an arranged marriage. When he gets married, he'll be much to busy to ever see you, especially with a wife and all." Temari rephrased.

"No! That can't be true! He told me we'd be together! He wouldn't lie to me!" Tenten cried out.

"How do you know he wouldn't lie? You probably don't even know about his past." Temari looked at Tenten with almost disgust.

"The past is past! This is present! Kankuro would never hurt me!" Tenten continued to cry out.

"Hmph. That's what you think. You'll never know the true Kankuro. He doesn't care about you." Temari said plainly as if she didn't care how Tenten felt. "So be a good girl and find someone else." Temari ordered.

'Could Kankuro really lie to me? Would he? No! I can't let Temari get in my way!' Tenten argued in her mind. "I still don't believe you!"

"Fine, then." Temari said with ease. "Don't believe me. Run to Kankuro and have your heart broken. He's an avenger you know? Almost like Sasuke…but you wouldn't care about his past avenges now would you?" Temari looked slyly at Tenten. 'Got her.'

'Avenger? What did he do?' Tenten asked herself. '_Maybe she's right. She's two years older than you **and** she's your friend. I'm sure she's telling the truth. She probably just wants what's best for you and Kankuro._' Tenten's inner-self reasoned. 'Yeah, you're probably right.' Tenten agreed with herself. "Fine. I'll stop seeing Kankuro." She said lowly with depression.

"Good. I'm glad we had this talk. I'm just doing this because it's the best way to keep you from getting hurt." Temari comforted.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks." Tenten tried to smile, but she knew she couldn't.

"Hey, at least you have Neji. Don't worry, he likes you. I know it." Temari guaranteed.

"But he didn't even say 'I love you' and we've known each other for so long." Tenten said uncertain about Neji.

"Well, what do you expect? He's Neji! Believe me when I say, he loves you and would do _anything_ for you. He just doesn't know how to say it, but it _will_ come." Temari assured.

"Yeah, okay." Tenten nodded. "Kind of like you and Shikamaru." She compared.

"Well, I guess in a way, yeah." Temari never thought of it that way, but it was kind of true. "But just between you and me," Temari started. ", Shikamaru is just a love toy." She shouted so Shikamaru could hear. Then she started to snicker.

'Nani (what)?!' Shikamaru's eyes widened. 'She _had_ to say that? What the heck are they talking about?' He wondered.

Tenten giggled along with Temari.

"That was a good laugh." Temari said. "I should be going though. Shikamaru can get surprisingly pissed off if I don't hang around him for a long time." Temari grinned as she white-lied. "What a baby, but that's what I get for choosing a boy toy three years younger than me." She shrugged. "Ja ne (goodbye)!" Temari waved as she started to walk back to her room.

"Ja ne (goodbye)!" Tenten waved back, trying to act cheerful.

Temari walked towards the connecting door to room 1001 and closed it shut.

"Love toy?" Shikamaru couldn't help but ask.

Temari grinned evilly at Shikamaru. "Mistress is more like it." She smirked.

"Oh, _that's_ better." Shikamaru said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"At least I don't call you 'mistress' in public." Temari pointed out. "Hmm…but maybe I should." She grinned again at Shikamaru.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

* * *

Hinata gasped, catching Kiba's attention.

"Hinata! What is it?" Kiba was quickly alarmed.

"It's…it's…Neji…" Hinata stared blankly.

"What about Neji?" Kiba looked worriedly at Hinata.

"He's…something…I think he's…kuso (damn it)! I have to help him!" Hinata quickly lifted herself off of the couch and ran towards the door.

"Where are you going?!" Kiba asked, standing up from the couch.

"Just stay here!" Hinata said before she ran out of the door.

* * *

"So what are we going to do? Stay out here until the bad chakra is gone?" Ino paced back and forth outside of the hotel.

"Yeah, that's a good idea! Dattebayo!" Naruto agreed.

"She was being rhetorical, Naruto." Sakura clarified.

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms. "Hmph."

"But you're right, Naruto. We should stay out here until whatever the heck Neji's doing in there is over." Sakura agreed.

Naruto smiled as Sakura agreed with him.

"Who knows how long _that's_ going to be?!" Ino whined.

"Yeah! I'm down to my last bag of chips!" Chouji munched on some chips.

"That reminds me…" Ino started. "…how are we going to tell anyone about dinner tonight? Neji could be up there all night for all we know." Ino said hopelessly.

"We'll just have to wait and see." Sakura tried to answer.

"This sucks. Dattebayo." Naruto commented.

"Why don't we ask for the phone number to everyone's room? Then we could call them from the phone inside the hotel." Chouji suggested.

"Wow, Chouji. That was pretty smart." Ino was surprised.

Chouji shrugged. "I just want to get some more chips."

* * *

_Now this is what everyone's waiting for…the anticipation of Neji and Kankuro…all of this happened right when Tenten and Temari started talking._

"Kankuro…" A low voice said.

'Kuso (damn it). I didn't think he'd find out _this_ soon.' Kankuro was getting scared. "Neji, don't do this."

"It's too late for that." Neji said, sounding like Gaara's deadly 'I'm going to kill you' voice.

'He has his Byakugan on and is already in his stance. He probably has his chakra in place already.' Kankuro noticed. "Neji, can't we just talk about this?" Kankuro tried to get out of this horrible situation.

"No." Neji said, sounding possessed. "You're going to die."

"Neji wait! You don't want to do this." Kankuro tried to persuade.

"Oh, yes I do." Neji was not going to change his mind that easily.

"But Tenten! This is about Tenten! Think about what she would want!" Kankuro continued to try and persuade Neji, but he was running out of things to say.

"She doesn't care about me anymore. You, on the other hand, she cares about dearly. You were the brainless one who didn't think this through. You shouldn't have taken back Tenten away from me, especially when you knew this would be coming." Neji explained. "It's your fault and only your fault. Because of that, you shall suffer the consequences and die." Neji started to run towards Kankuro, ready to hit his chakra points.

Kankuro did the first thing that came to mind, which was to jump out of the way. 'He's going to use his Byakugan and hit my chakra points.' He confirmed in his head.

Neji knew Kankuro would jump away, so he used a substitution jutsu and appeared behind Kankuro. It was practically over.

"Neji, no!" Hinata yelled out, running towards Neji and Kankuro.

Neji stopped his attack. "Hinata, stay out of this." Neji warned.

"No, Neji! You can't kill him! I won't let you!" Hinata grabbed Neji's arm.

"Hinata, leave now. You don't know what Kankuro's done." Neji warned again.

"Byakugan." Hinata let go of Neji. "Neji, don't hurt him. You'll have to go through me first." Hinata threatened.

Neji glared at Hinata for a long second. Then he turned his head to Kankuro. "You're lucky Hinata was here to save you, or you'd be dead, definitely." Neji whispered deadly at Kankuro.

"Neji. Just go." Hinata ordered.

"Fine." Neji jutsu-ed away to his room.

Hinata turned off her Byakugan. "Are you okay, Kankuro?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for saving me. I would've been dead if it weren't for you." Kankuro was relieved.

"No problem." Hinata smiled. "But why exactly was he going to kill you?"

"Well," Kankuro scratched the back of his head. ", he saw me with Tenten."

"Well that's no big deal. Neji can be so jealous sometimes. It's not like you were having an affair or anything." Hinata said.

"Actually…" Kankuro scratched the back of his head again. "…we kind of were."

"What?!" Hinata said angrily.

'Oh no. She looks pissed off…' Kankuro thought.

"You should know better than to get into a relationship with Tenten when she was going out with Neji!" Hinata's Byakugan turned on by itself.

"But Tenten said they were over!" Kankuro tried to defend himself.

"Well you should know better!" Hinata was starting to get louder. "I should kill you myself. No one hurts my cousin but me!"

'Kuso (damn it). Now I got _two_ Hyuugas that want to kill me.' Kankuro thought.

"Hinata? Is everything okay? You've been out here for a while. Kankuro?" Kiba popped his head outside in the hallway. He started to walk towards Hinata and Kankuro. "What's going on here?" Kiba asked.

Hinata was too distracted thinking about killing Kankuro to listen to or even notice Kiba. "You're dead!" Hinata started to run towards Kankuro.

"Hinata!" Kiba quickly took a hold of Hinata before she could hit Kankuro. "What the hell are you doing Hinata?!"

"Kankuro…he hurt Neji." Hinata glared at Kankuro with evil intent.

"Kankuro? Did you do that?" Kiba raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Umm…kind of…" Kankuro admitted.

"What?! Baka (idiot)! What's wrong with you?!" Kiba yelled at Kankuro. "You're lucky I don't kill you myself! You owe me, baka (idiot)!"

Kankuro scoffed. "One little mistake and I get three people who want to kill me." He muttered.

"It was a big mistake. How could you go out with Tenten! Don't you know she was just doing that to get Neji jealous?!" Hinata was still greatly angered.

"What?! You're a bigger baka (idiot) than I thought!" Kiba opinionated. "You're going to tell her it's over, right?"

"I don't want to, but I guess I have to." Kankuro hung his head low.

"Just remember, she was just using you." Hinata reminded. "I'm her friend…I know her."

"Yeah, what Hinata said." Kiba nodded.

'Yeah, that's probably true. I guess she probably was just using me.' Kankuro was convinced.

* * *

"Arigato gozaimasu (thank you)!" Sakura said politely to the girl at the front desk. "Okay, here it is." She said to Ino, Chouji, and Naruto, holding a hotel phone and a piece of paper.

"Let's call Kiba and Hinata first." Ino suggested.

"Okay." Sakura dialed the phone number for room 1004.

_After 30 seconds of ringing…_

Sakura hung up the phone. "No one answered the phone." Sakura said disappointedly.

"Weird…well, call Tenten." Ino proposed.

"Mm." Sakura nodded. She called room 1000.

_After another 30 seconds of ringing…_

Sakura hung up the phone again. "She didn't answer her phone either."

"Wow, this is getting really weird. Maybe something happened with Hinata, Kiba, and Tenten…" Ino tried to think of something that could've happened. "You don't think Neji did something to them, do you?" Ino asked.

Sakura shook her head. "No. I don't think Neji would be that cold."

"You never know…" Chouji munched on the last few bits of potato chip.

"But Neji changed after our first Chuunin Exams, dattebayo!" Naruto disagreed.

"Well, let's see if Shikamaru or Temari answer their phone." Sakura dialed room 1001's phone number.

"Hello?"

"Shikamaru?"

"Who's this?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's Sakura." Sakura answered.

"Oh." Shikamaru said lazily.

"Umm…is something going on up there?" Sakura asked.

"No, just you're average, everyday, ordinary betrayal and lying going around; nothing out of the ordinary." Shikamaru said plainly as if things were really all that average.

"What? What's going on up there? I had a bad feeling about Neji." Sakura informed.

"Yeah, he's just trying to kill Kankuro." Shikamaru enlightened.

"What?! Why is he doing that?!" Sakura asked rather loudly into the phone.

"Long story. Too troublesome to explain." Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura yelled into the phone.

"Could you be quieter?" Shikamaru asked lazily.

"Ugh! Where's Temari?!" Sakura asked infuriatingly.

"She's betraying Tenten and lying to her about everything she believed in." Shikamaru said plainly again, exaggerating a bit.

"What?! Did we miss that much?!" Sakura rhetorically asked.

"Yup…bye. I think I'm going to take a nap now before Temari comes back in." Shikamaru hung up the phone.

"Wait!" Sakura said, but it was too late. Shikamaru had already hung up the phone.

"What happened, Sakura?" Ino asked.

"Something's going on between Neji, Tenten, Kankuro, and Temari. Shikamaru wouldn't say anything else." Sakura explained.

"Call him back! _I'll_ talk to him!" Ino pointed to herself with her thumb.

Sakura shrugged. "Okay." She dialed room 1001's phone number again. "It's busy."

"What?" Ino angered.

"What do we do now?" Chouji asked.

"We could always take our chances and go upstairs." Sakura said. "We're going to have to go up there anyways." She added.

"So, should we take our chances?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, let's go, dattebayo!" Naruto cheered.

"Okay…" Sakura said hesitantly as she looked at Ino.

Ino nodded. "If we die, I'm blaming Naruto." She joked.

So Sakura, Naruto, Ino, and Chouji walked to the elevator and went up the 100th floor.

* * *

Kankuro walked back to his room. "Tenten?" He said.

"Hey, Kankuro." Tenten said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"We need to talk." Kankuro said straightforward. 'Let's just get this over with.'

"Yeah, I need to talk to you too." Tenten said.

Kankuro sat down next to Tenten. "You can go first."

"No, you can." Tenten insisted.

"Okay…well…I don't really know how to say this, but…" Kankuro started hesitating.

"I think we should break up." Tenten said quickly.

"Really?" Kankuro said, slightly relieved that _he_ didn't have to say it.

"Yeah…I'm sorry Kankuro, but I just can't have this kind of relationship, you know?" Tenten said.

"Yeah, I know." Kankuro agreed.

"So just friends again?" Tenten made a half-smile.

"Yeah, just friends." Kankuro nodded. He reached his hand out to Tenten.

Tenten shook Kankuro's hand in agreement. "I guess I should go now." Tenten stood up.

Kankuro stood up as well and walked Tenten to the door.

"Let's just forget any of this happened." Tenten suggested.

"Yeah. Good idea." Kankuro said.

"See ya later, than?" Tenten said.

"Yeah, later." Kankuro said. "Good luck with Neji."

"Thanks. I'll need it." Tenten joked. She turned around and walked back to her room.

* * *

"Neji?" Temari said.

"What?" Neji said coldly.

"I think Kankuro and Tenten are going to break up now." Temari said.

"I'll be there." Neji hung up the phone and jutsu-ed into room 1001. He quickly used his Byakugan and saw through the connecting doors. "Yeah, it's them."

Temari put her ear to the wall. "What're they saying?" She whispered.

"They broke up; they're just friends now." Neji smirked.

"Yes!" Temari whispered. "This is perfect. My story worked!"

"They're going outside. I should go back to my room." Neji advised himself.

"Yeah. Bye, Neji." Temari said.

"Bye." Neji said right before he jutsu-ed back into his room before Tenten.

"That wasn't very nice, Temari." Shikamaru commented.

"Well, who said I was nice, Shika-kun." Temari said knowing Shikamaru would be annoyed.

"Hn. Don't call me Shika-kun." Shikamaru said.

"Fine then, mistress." Temari snickered.

"Hn." Shikamaru said annoyed.

* * *

**A/N: **Woohoo! Everyone's in the chapter…well except for Rock Lee, which is a letdown. But next chapter has Rock Lee and maybe only Lee…I'm not sure yet. Wasn't that chapter a little sad? I thought it was. I mean Temari lied to Tenten. Kiba and Hinata accidentally lied to Kankuro. It's all a big hunk of lies that will never be revealed! Or will they? Hmm…

**Song: **Friend or Foe - by t.A.T.u. It's a pretty good song. It fits pretty fitting too. Kankuro and Tenten have their big break-up. 'Is it too late, nothing to salvage… all words of love, has disappeared…we used to love one another… So are you friend or foe, 'cause I used to know…the promises, hollow concessions' Very good song to listen to. A lot of good inspiration from that song.


	15. Day 3 The Next Time

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Does anyone even read the disclaimer?**

**A/N: **Yes! I finally included Rock Lee! Woohoo! I'm so happy! Now everyone's in this chapter! Well, some more than others, but still! Yippee!

**UPDATE Cheer**: I'm happy to say that I found an awesome song a couple days ago called Voice For You sung by Romi Paku and Shoutarou Morikubo, the voice-actors/seiyuus for Temari and Shikamaru! Romi sounds higher than usual, but still awesome song! I even made a YouTube video for it and it only took a couple of hours! I'm _so_ happy I found the song, that I have adrenaline to write two chapters in 3 days! So I'll just call it a winter holiday/new year gift from me to everyone who's reading this.

**Published December 30, 2006**

**Chapter 15 - The Next Time**

_Day 3…in the gym…_

A girl tapped Rock Lee on the shoulder. "Lee, Rock Lee? _The_ Rock Lee, is that you?!"

"Umm…hai (yes)?" Rock Lee answered hesitantly.

"Oh my gosh! It _is_ you!" The purple-haired girl started to squeal in excitement. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! It's really you! I've wanted to meet you since forever!" The girl started to fan herself with her hands.

"Really?" Rock Lee raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, of course! You're famous everywhere! All my friends love you!" The girl squealed again. "I'm so excited that I get to meet 'The Hidden Leaf Village's Handsome Green Devil'!" She cheered. "My friends will never believe me though." She quickly started to pout sadly.

Rock Lee put his fist up. "Well then, with my handsomely devilish powers, I shall meet your friends and show them the truth! Yosh (alright)!"

"Oh thank you Lee! You are truly my hero!" The girl said dramatically.

Rock Lee started to blush. He scratched the back of his head. "Thank you, thank you."

_A long walk later…_

"Oh my Kami! It's Lee! Everyone look, it's Rock Lee!" A young brunette squealed.

"Yeah, sure. We're not falling for that ag--oh my Kami! It's Rock Lee!" Another brunette said as her eyes widened.

"I just said that; next time maybe you'll believe me." The first brunette stuck out her tongue.

"Oh, here we go again. While you two are arguing, _I'll_ be talking to Rock Lee!" A blonde said, walking towards Rock Lee and the purple-haired girl.

"Hi, Suzume." Haruki said politely.

"Oh, hi, Haruki." The blonde rolled her eyes. "Hi, Rock Lee! I'm a big fan of yours!" Suzume smiled at Rock Lee.

"Ohayo gozaimasu!" Rock Lee waved cheerfully. "Domo arigato (thank you)! Your name is Suzume, correct?"

"Yes, yes it is." Suzume said.

"It is a very nice name." Rock Lee complimented.

Suzume started to blush. "Oh, thank you, Rock Lee! I'm so happy I finally get to meet you!"

"Thank you." Lee said.

"Rock Lee! Lee-san! Rock Lee-kun!" A large group of fangirls started to shout Rock Lee's name as they ran towards him.

"Oh, no. Here come the bulls." Haruki said, pulling back her purple hair to move out of the way.

Suzume copied and got out of the way as the swarm of fangirls started glomping Rock Lee.

Suzume "So, Haruki, how'd you get Rock Lee here? You threaten to rape him or something." The blonde said half jokingly.

"As if! I'm not like _you_." Haruki pointed to the Suzume.

"Come on, Haruki. There's no way Rock Lee would come here because you asked him to." Suzume glared at Haruki.

Haruki crossed her arms. "For your information, I _didn't_ ask Rock Lee to come. He volunteered to come." Haruki raised her chin up and made a 'humph' sound.

"Tch. Whatever." Suzume turned away from Haruki. "Don't think you've won just yet, Haruki." She said with her back facing Haruki.

"Whatever." Haruki said. "I'm going to save Lee from the fangirls."

"Hmph. Lucky for you, I have dance lessons or else _I'd_ be saving Lee and getting the glory." Suzume said with her back still turned form Haruki.

"Whatever. See ya, bird-brain (**A/N:** Suzume means 'sparrow')." Haruki started walking away from Suzume.

"Bye, tree-bark (**A/N:** Haruki means 'springtime tree'.)" Suzume walked out of the building with her hands still crossed, not looking back.

* * *

_In room 1001 with Shikamaru and Temari…_

"Don't you feel guilty?" Shikamaru just _had_ to ask. Even _he_ couldn't stand _this_ much silence.

"About what? Kanky and Tenten? Why should I?" Temari said.

Shikamaru shrugged. "You _did_ just ruin their loving relationship that could've turned into something…"

"Shikamaru, have you been reading shoujo mangas?" Temari chuckled.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I was just trying to be 'less troublesome' to you. You said you wanted longer answers." He shrugged. "I guess I should stay troublesome."

"Yeah, you're way out-of-character…kind of creepy." Temari scooted away a little from Shikamaru.

"Hn." Shikamaru said.

"_Much_ better!" Temari nodded.

* * *

_Hours of fighting with fangirls glomping Rock Lee later…_

"Sorry about all of those fangirls Rock Lee! I didn't think they would hug you _that_ much." Haruki apologized.

"No, it is okay. If I train a lot, these bruised will go away faster. This is just a way to keep me training." Rock Lee said.

"Wow, you're so smart, Lee!" Haruki complimented, smiling genuinely at Rock Lee.

"Thank you." Rock Lee scratched the back of his head. "So where is this place?"

"Well, this place doesn't really have a name. It's just a building where my classmates hang out. It's supposed to be for people who want to come to the park. If it rains, they come in here." Haruki explained.

"Oh." Lee responded. "Since everyone has left, where are we going now?" He asked.

"Hm? You mean you're not going to leave now?" Haruki asked.

"I would never leave a Rock Lee fan such as you!" Rock Lee raised a fist in front of him like it was his nindo.

"Well," Haruki scratched the back of her head. Her eyes were looking in a different direction, away from Rock Lee.

"Hmm?" Rock Lee looked at Haruki.

"What is it, Haruki-chan?" Rock Lee asked, with slight concern.

'Haruki-chan?' Haruki thought. "Oh, it's just that, I wouldn't really know where we could go. I usually stay home or work with my sister, Kameko."

"I did not know that you work. How old are you, Haruki-chan?" Rock Lee said.

"Oh, yeah, I do. I have to pay off college debts. I'm actually, uh," Haruki chuckled nervously. ", I'm 21." She admitted.

"Wow! I thought you were 18 or 19!" Rock Lee looked surprised.

"Awww, thanks. But I'm 21. I'm training to become a doctor." She added.

"That's wonderful! I have a very good friend who is a medic-ninja!" Rock Lee said.

"Oh, Haruno Sakura, right?" Haruki said.

"Hai!" Rock Lee nodded. "How did you know?"

"Oh, everyone knows about Haruno Sakura since you have a crush on her." Haruki said.

Rock Lee blushed slightly.

Haruki noticed. "Oh, no need to be embarrassed or anything. A lot of guys like Sakura-san. She's a very famous medic-ninja. I would love to meet her one day."

"Oh, would you like to meet her today?" Rock Lee asked.

"Oh my Kami! Really?" Haruki started to get excited.

"Of course. I would never lie to you, Haruki-chan!" Rock Lee cheered.

"Thank you Rock Lee! I would definitely want to meet her." Haruki nodded. Then something crossed her mind.

"Rock Lee, what are you doing in Tokyo?" Haruki asked, looking at Lee.

"I am here on vacation with Neji and Tenten. Coincidently, some of my other friends are here on vacation as well." Rock Lee explained.

"Wow! What a coincidence!" Haruki said.

"I know!" Rock Lee said.

"Umm…Rock Lee?" Haruki said, looking down at the ground.

"Yes, Haruki-chan?" Rock Lee looked at Haruki.

"Can I bring my sister to meet Sakura as well?" Haruki asked.

"Of course! I am sure Sakura-chan will not mind seeing another fan!" Rock Lee reassured.

"Oh, thank you Lee!" Haruki wrapped her arms around Rock Lee's neck in a hug.

* * *

"_So_…" Temari said, waiting for Shikamaru to say something.

"Hn?" Shikamaru said.

Temari sighed. "Shikamaru, I'm bored!" She said in a 'I'm-bored-so-you-better-do-something" kind of tone.

"Then do something." Shikamaru said simply.

"Shikamaru!" Temari put her hands on her hips.

"Okay, okay…take a nap." Shikamaru said.

"What?! But that's so boring!" Temari said. "I'm not even sleepy!"

"Well, what do you want to do?" Shikamaru sighed.

"You tell me!" Temari said.

"I don't know." Shikamaru muttered.

"You don't know?! What kind of genius are you?!" Temari shouted at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru put a finger in his ear. "You don't have to be so loud, troublesome woman."

* * *

_In Neji and Tenten's room…after Tenten and Kankuro broke up…_

Tenten saw Neji. He was sitting on the couch with his arms crossed. Neji was looking straight forward at the wall. He didn't look at Tenten when she walked in. He just stared fiercely at the wall.

Tenten sat down next to Neji, hoping they could work things out.

_5 minutes later…_

"I haven't see Lee all day…I'm starting to get worried." Tenten said. She was trying to make conversation with Neji, but she also couldn't stand the silence Neji was giving her.

"Hn." Neji responded.

Tenten looked at Neji. "Neji…" She said softly. "…I'm sorry." Tenten apologized.

"Hn." Neji responded again.

"Neji, I just apologized." Tenten said as if Neji didn't hear or understand her.

"You don't mean it." Neji said plainly.

Tenten looked down. "Your right." She paused for a few moments. "You're always right."

_Almost 20 minutes later..._

"I'm sorry, Neji…I shouldn't have asked Kankuro to go out with me. I was wrong to do that to you. I was just…I was just very emotional at the time. I didn't want to feel alone. I just needed someone to comfort me and Kankuro was right there. I'm sorry…there's no excuse for what I did." Tenten hung her head low. She was truly sorry. Her eyes were almost on the verge of tears. 'I really shouldn't have done any of that…I just hope he can forgive me…he didn't do anything wrong…' Tenten waited for a response.

_30 seconds later…_

If there was one emotion running through Neji's body…it was guilt.

Neji wrapped his arms around Tenten.

'Neji…he's…hugging me?' Tenten wasn't sure if this was all a dream or not. 'Neji doesn't hug.'

As soon as the thought ended in Tenten's head, Neji's arms let go of Tenten. "I'm sorry too." Neji said lowly.

Tenten gasped quietly. "What?" She turned to Neji. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Neji. It wasn't your fault. None of this was your fault."

"It will be…" Neji looked down slightly at his legs. "You shouldn't be saying sorry…"

"Neji, it was my fault, okay? _I_ made the mistake, not you." Tenten consoled.

"But Kankuro loves you and I ruined it." Neji admitted.

"What? No you didn't. Kankuro can't love me. He's going to be married." Tenten differed.

"No, he's not." Neji stated. "Temari and I…we plotted to abolish your relationship." He confessed.

"W-What?" Tenten could not believe what was happening, what she was hearing. Her heart was feeling hurt and deceived by Neji, the one she confessed loving.

"_I_ should be sorry…not you…" Neji's head hung lower than ever. He looked down at the ground. He did not want to look at Tenten. He knew she would be hurt…hurt badly.

This time, Tenten wrapped _her_ arms around Neji.

Neji was in a state of shock. He definitely wasn't expecting _this_.

"Neji…it's okay. We both made mistakes. We can't change the past." Tenten said into Neji's ear while she was hugging him. "I still…I still love you!" She confessed again, tightening her squeeze on Neji.

Neji was silent; he was frozen; his heart was filled with mixed emotions. When he finally contemplated everything in his head, he knew what to do. He smirked. Neji wrapped his arms around Tenten again.

* * *

"Do you like roasted chestnuts?" Temari asked, popping her face in front of Shikamaru, shading his face.

Shikamaru was lying down on the couch with his arms behind his head. "They're okay." He said hesitantly and raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Just wondering." Temari shrugged. Her face was still in front of Shikamaru, only inches apart from each other. "What about vegetable soup?" She asked curiously.

Shikamaru shrugged.

"What's that supposed to mean? You don't know?" Temari made a small pout.

"It means I don't have a preference." Shikamaru clarified.

"Well, what _do_ you have a preference for?" Temari asked, with her face still overshadowing Shikamaru's.

Shikamaru closed his eyes. "I like mackerel and kelp. I don't like boiled eggs."

"Hmm…" Temari eyes were looking up at her forehead. She was thinking about something.

Shikamaru opened his eyes. "Hmm? What?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Do you like octopus?" Temari asked.

"Eh." Shikamaru shrugged.

Temari sighed, causing her hot breath to reach Shikamaru's face.

Shikamaru just happened to have to breathe at that time, so he got a whiff of Temari's breath. 'Why does her breath smell like mint?' Shikamaru asked.

"What about squid? Do you like squid?" Temari asked.

"Eh." Shikamaru answered again.

"What the hell are you saying?!" Temari said frustratingly.

"I'll eat it but it's not a personal favorite." Shikamaru clarified again.

"Well why couldn't you just say that in the first place?!" Temari asked.

Shikamaru sighed. "I don't know." He shrugged.

Temari sighed again, which sent another scent of mint to Shikamaru. "Sometimes I seriously wonder if you're a genius or not." Temari moved her head away and sat back down on the couch.

* * *

The elevator door slid open.

"Hmm…I guess it is over." Sakura concluded.

"Or _maybe_ nothing ever happened!" Ino said in a blaming voice.

"It _did_ happen! Something happened up here!" Sakura shouted at Ino.

"Whatever, billboard-brow!" Ino shouted back.

"Let's just ask someone if anything happened." Chouji suggested hesitantly.

"Fine." Ino crossed her arms.

"Fine!" Sakura crossed her arms as well.

'Girls…these are the times I agree with Shikamaru on girls…troublesome…' Chouji thought. "Let's go to Kankuro's room. He shouldn't be busy with anything."

Ino and Sakura sighed. "Okay."

"Dattebayo!" Naruto agreed as well.

The four ninjas walked to Kankuro's room. Naruto knocked on Kankuro's door.

"Who is it?" A tempered and irritated voice said rudely.

"It's Naruto, dattebayo!" Naruto grinned.

"Go away!" Kankuro shouted.

"I'm here too! It's Chouji! Sakura and Ino are here too!" Chouji informed.

"Go away!" Kankuro shouted again but he sounded more irritated.

"Kankuro!" Ino said angrily.

"I don't feel like talking, so I'd advise you to get the hell away from me!" Kankuro yelled out a little too loudly.

'How troublesome.' Shikamaru thought, as usual, from room 1001.

'_Someone's_ turning a little 'emo'.' Temari said with no guilt at all.

'Poor Kankuro…wait, is someone outside?' Hinata said, concerned.

'Damn, he's got it bad.' Kiba shook his head.

'Oh, no…Kankuro…what's Neji going to do?' Tenten looked at Neji for a short moment.

'Tch. He's going 'emo' already? Well I guess there's nothing I can do about that…' Neji smirked ever-so slightly. '_You should feel bad for him! His heart has just been crushed!_' 'Hn.'

Sakura sighed. "I guess we'll just have to ask someone else."

Ino rolled her eyes. "No, duh, forehead-girl."

Sakura glared at Ino but did nothing else.

"But where do we go now?" Naruto asked.

"Kiba and Hinata are probably asleep cuddling together, Neji and Tenten are probably having a make-out session, and Temari probably got Shikamaru to have sex with her." Ino supposed.

Chouji, Naruto, and Sakura fell down in an anime-style fall.

"What goes on in your head, Ino?!" Sakura shouted.

"What? It could be true!" Ino crossed her arms.

"Bu-" Sakura started. 'I guess there's a good possibility it could be true.' Sakura shook her head. "But you don't have to say it out loud!"

Ino sighed. "You're so immature, Sakura." She stuck out her tongue at Sakura.

"Hmph. Look who's talking." Sakura crossed her arms.

"Let's just see if Rock Lee's in my room." Chouji suggested, not wanting more mindless bickering from Sakura and Ino.

"Fine." Sakura said.

"Fine!" Ino said louder than Sakura.

Chouji took out his red hotel key and opened the door. "Lee? Are you in here?" Chouji looked around the room but it was empty. He sighed as he closed the door.

"Nobody's in there. What are we going to do now?" Chouji asked.

"I don't know." Sakura said.

Ino and Sakura both sighed heavily as they slid to the ground with their backs against the wall.

"Let's eat dinner by ourselves! Dattebayo!" Naruto suggested.

"No!" Sakura, Ino, _and_ Chouji said.

"But, nande (why) dattebayo?" Naruto whined.

"It's boring with just the four of us. We don't have any drama in our lives. It's a sad but true story. Isn't that right, billboard-brow?" Ino sighed hopelessly.

"That's right, Ino-pig." Sakura said in the same hopeless way Ino spoke.

'Did they just agree with each other?' Chouji wondered if he was imagining all of this.

* * *

"Why does your breath smell like mint?" Shikamaru asked.

"Why are you asking a question? I thought it would be 'too troublesome'." Temari said, quoting Shikamaru with her fingers like bunny-ears.

"Because you said you were bored. Now we have a conversation." Shikamaru explained.

"Awww, you did that just for me?" Temari said, more like a statement than question, in a sarcastic tone.

"Let's get back on-topic." Shikamaru said.

"Fine…ugh, what's the question again?" Temari asked dumbfounded. She wasn't really listening to Shikamaru the first time. She thought he was probably saying some nonsense about things being troublesome or something.

Shikamaru sighed. "How troublesome." He muttered.

"What did you say?!" Temari shouted at Shikamaru.

"Nothing, nothing." Shikamaru said. "Troublesome woman." He mumbled.

Temari glared at Shikamaru. "Hn."

"Why does your breath smell like mint?" Shikamaru said in his lazy tone, a bit droopily.

"How do you know my breath smells like mint?!" Temari yelled at Shikamaru.

"You were sighing in front of my face, remember?" Shikamaru reminded.

"Oh…Well, y_ou're_ the genius! _You_ figure it out!" Temari yelled.

"Is that your answer to everything now?" Shikamaru asked.

"As long as you keep answering with a 'hn', yes, it is!" Temari grinned.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

* * *

**A/N: **Lol. I purposely, out of my strange enjoyment, made Shikamaru and Temari have odd and random conversations while waiting for everyone else's issues to set-up and finish. It was very weird, but fun! Lol. And their random conversations will work into the next chapter. So remember the randomness!

**Song: **The Next Time - For Amusement Only. This song would've been better for the chapter 14, but whatever. It's a song for Neji and Tenten. This is a really good song! I was searching for lyrics and found this. I'll probably make an AMV for this sometime. 'Say something, do something, 'cause she's walking out the door again... Said nothing, did nothing, And you've lost you're closest friend' Awesome lyrics for an awesome song. I recommend it, especially for rockers.


	16. Day 3 Crack the Code

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. What's the point of writing a disclaimer comment if nobody reads it?**

**A/N:** My winter holiday/new year's gift to you! Yay! P.S. Hinata's not out-of-character here! She's older now! She's no longer shy like her 12 year-old or even 15 year-old days! She's 19 and speaks for herself…but still in a soft voice. Or at least this is true in my story because nobody, except Kishimoto maybe, knows yet. Read on!

**Published December 30, 2006**

**Chapter 16 - Crack the Code**

Hinata popped her head out from her door. "Is anybody out here?" She asked.

"Hinata! You're not asleep cuddling with Kiba!" Naruto ran towards Hinata, not realizing how weird he just sounded.

"Huh?" Hinata said.

Naruto hugged Hinata. "Ino and Sakura are going crazy because everyone has a boyfriend or girlfriend except for Kankuro and Lee, but Lee isn't here and Kankuro won't let us in his room." Naruto said really fast.

"Uhh…okay…I heard Kankuro yelling and wondered who was outside.

"I'm so glad you came outside, Hinata." Chouji said. "Can you answer a quick question for me?"

"Sure." Hinata smiled.

"Was Neji out here about to kill someone?" Chouji asked very innocently like it was a 'how's your day been' kind of questions.

"Wha-?" Hinata started to blush with embarrassment. "Why would you think that?"

"Sakura had a 'feeling' before we walked into the hotel from the mall. She said Neji was in the hallway and had killing intents. Is it true?" Chouji asked again.

"Umm...I don't know what you're talking about." Hinata lied. Unknown to most, Hinata's lying skills are actually better than most.

"Oh, okay." Chouji shrugged. "Hinata doesn't know about what was happening up here." Chouji informed Ino and Sakura.

"Oh, well that's great." Ino said dully.

"Yeah, yippee." Sakura said as unenthusiastically as Ino.

"Uh, okay." Chouji turned to Hinata. "Hinata, would you and Kiba like to get a burger with Naruto, Sakura, Ino, and me?"

"Please say yes, Hinata-chan! Dattebayo!" Naruto asked like a child asking for candy before dinner.

Hinata nodded. "I'll ask Kiba…"

"Did somebody say burger? Hamburger?" Kiba said, running from the couch.

"Do you want to eat hamburgers with Ino, Sakura, Naruto, and Chouji?" Hinata asked.

"Of course!" Kiba cheered. "Yahoo!"

Hinata sighed, almost embarrassed because of Kiba. "Oh, gosh, Kiba. Do you have to say 'yahoo' every time?" Hinata asked.

"Of course! It's my phrase! Naruto has his 'dattebayo', Shikamaru has 'troublesome', Neji is all 'destiny', and I have my 'yahoo'!" Kiba said proudly.

"Out of all the years I've known you, Kiba, this has to be the smartest thing you've ever said." Hinata complimented and insulted at the same time.

"Why, tha--hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Kiba said.

Hinata sighed. "Nothing, nothing." Hinata waved her hand in front of Kiba. "So, Chouji, what time is dinner?"

"Let's make it 7 o'clock?" Chouji suggested.

"Okay." Hinata nodded.

"Wait. Are we leaving at seven or eating dinner at seven?" Kiba asked.

"Leaving at seven." Chouji clarified.

"O-kay!" Kiba said.

"Is anybody else coming?" Hinata asked.

"We were going to invite Shikamaru, Temari, Neji, and Tenten, but we don't want to interrupt anything." Chouji said.

"Byakugan." Hinata said. "Shikamaru and Temari aren't doing anything. You can ask them." Then she turned her head to the left. "But I think we should leave Tenten and Neji alone." Hinata advised.

"Okay. Thank you, Hinata. So we'll see you at seven?" Chouji said.

"Mm." Hinata nodded. "Ja ne (goodbye)!"

"See ya!" Kiba said.

"Bye!" Chouji said.

"Bye! Dattebayo!" Naruto said.

The elevator made a 'ding' sound as the doors slid open. Coming out of the door was Rock Lee with Haruki and her sister Kameko. Haruki was holding onto Rock Lee's right arm and Kameko was clinging to his left arm. It made Rock Lee look like a real 'ladies man', not that he wasn't one already.

"That's great, Rock Lee!" Kameko smiled cheerfully.

"Yeah! I wish I could be as youthful as you." Haruki said.

"Lee?" Sakura stood up from her slumping 'emo' hopelessness state.

"Sakura-chan!" Lee greeted. "This is Haruki and Kameko." He introduced, pointing to his left and right arm.

"Haruno Sakura! You're one of my biggest inspirations!" Haruki said, letting out her hand for a handshake.

Sakura shook Haruki's hand hesitantly. "Thank you. Umm…who are you?" She asked kind of rudely.

"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself." Haruki let go of Rock Lee's arm. "I'm Haruki, as Lee said, and I'm training to become a doctor."

"Well, that's great! I'm a medic-ninja." Sakura said politely.

"Yeah, I know. You're very famous around here. I'm not a ninja, but I _have_ learned how to use chakra." Haruki said.

"That's wonderful! Maybe I could teach you a little technique sometime." Sakura insisted politely.

"Thank you so much!" Haruki cheered. "Oh yeah, and this is my nee-chan (older sister), Kameko."

"Hello. I'm a big fan of yours as well!" Kameko said.

"Well, thank you!" Sakura smiled.

Ino stood up from her 'emo' conditioned state. "Don't praise her _too_ much. I wouldn't want Sakura's head blow up or anything." Ino joked. "Well, maybe just a little."

"Yamanaka Ino!" Kameko cheered.

"You know me?" Ino raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I do! You're a strong kunoichi and you still have time to look pretty and work at your family's famous flower shop!" Kameko glorified.

Ino scratched the back of her head. "Well, heh thanks! I guess I _am_ pretty awesome."

"And you say _my_ head will blow up?" Sakura said.

"Oh, shut it, Sakura." Ino scowled.

* * *

"Shikamaru! I'm bored to death!" Temari whined.

"Hn." Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru!" Temari scolded.

"What?!" Shikamaru said.

"_You're_ the genius! _You_ figure it out!" Temari shouted louder than usual.

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome woman." He muttered.

* * *

"What was that?" Kameko asked.

"Temari." Ino said simply.

"Sabaku no Temari?! She's my idol!" Kameko squealed.

"Seriously?" Ino said.

"Of course! She's the fiercest kunoichi there is. I admire everything about her! She's the best!" Kameko said, not realizing who she was talking to.

"Oh, really?" Ino said glaringly.

Kameko nodded. "Is she in _that_ room?" She pointed to room 1001.

Ino sighed. She nodded.

Kameko quickly knocked on the door.

"Sorry about Kameko. She's such a spazz sometimes." Haruki apologized for Kameko.

* * *

There was a knock on the door.

"Answer it, genius!" Temari ordered.

Shikamaru stood up, muttering, "Troublesome woman, troublesome day, troublesome person knocking on the door…" He opened the door.

"Nara Shikamaru!" Kameko was in shock. "I love you!" She hugged Shikamaru around the neck.

"Eh?" Shikamaru said.

"Nani (what)?!" Temari growled angrily. "Shikamaru! Who the hell is that?!" Temari scowled and glared at the girl hugging Shikamaru. "Did she just say she loves you?!"

"I don't know who she is. She just started hugging me." Shikamaru said.

"Yeah, right, Shikamaru!" Temari stomped towards Shikamaru and Kameko. "Okay, missy, who the hell are _you_?!"

Kameko let go of Shikamaru. "Sabaku no Temari!" She bowed down to Temari. "You're my favorite kunoichi who I respect very much!"

"Oh, really? Well, I _am_ pretty good." Temari looked at her nails.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru said.

"Sorry about before, Temari-san. I was just really surprised to see Nara Shikamaru. Are you two married yet?" Kameko asked.

"NANI (WHAT)?!" Shikamaru and Temari shouted with their eyes popping out at Kameko.

"Why would I marry such a…" Temari started.

"We're not married." Shikamaru stated.

"What makes you think we were married?" Temari asked coyly.

"Just a thought." Kameko shrugged innocently.

"Tch." Temari said. She crossed her arms. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"I'm here with my sister, Haruki. Rock Lee brought us here." Kameko informed.

"So 'eyebrows' brought you here." Temari said. "Well, good to know. Bye." She said rudely. Temari turned around and walked back to the couch.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru said. "Sayonara (goodbye)." Shikamaru stated unenthusiastically.

"Bye!" Kameko waved cheerfully.

* * *

There was another knock on the door.

"Shikamaru!" Temari ordered.

Shikamaru sighed. "How troublesome." He muttered. Shikamaru slowly got up from the couch.

Temari was getting impatient as the knocking got louder. "Hurry up, crybaby." Temari pushed Shikamaru's butt with her foot.

Shikamaru was caught off-guard and almost fell. "Troublesome woman." He mumbled as he continued to walk to the door, this time with a quicker pace. He opened the door. "Yeah?" Shikamaru said lazily.

"What kind of 'hello' is that?!" Ino shouted.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

"What Ino wanted to say was, would you and Temari like to get some burgers with me, Naruto, Ino, Chouji, Kiba, Hinata, Rock Lee, Haruki, and Kameko?" Sakura asked.

"No. Too troublesome." Shikamaru said. He pushed the door closed.

Luckily for Ino, she stuck her foot in the room before the door closed. "Shikamaru!" She opened the door wide. "Temari! Tell Shikamaru to eat burgers with us."

Temari glared at Ino with her arms crossed. "I don't have to do as you say." She said. "Shikamaru! Eat burgers with them!" Temari ordered loudly. "That was my own will, not yours." Temari corrected.

"Well, thanks anyways, Temari! But don't you want to go?" Sakura asked.

"No. I think I caught the genius's laziness." Temari yawned. "I'll stay here."

'I shouldn't try to make her go. She might get angry…' Sakura shrugged. "Okay. Get ready and be out in the hallway by seven." Sakura said to Shikamaru.

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru said.

"And she means seven P.M., not A.M.!" Ino said. "You better be outside on time, or else!" Ino threatened.

"Hai (yes), hai." Shikamaru said.

"Humph." Ino crossed her arms.

"Bye!" Sakura said, as she closed the door.

"Shikamaru's coming, but Temari's staying here." Sakura said to Naruto, Chouji, Rock Lee, Haruki, and Kameko.

"Why isn't Temari coming?" Haruki asked.

"Don't ask." Sakura said.

* * *

"Why aren't you going?" Shikamaru looked at Temari.

"Like I said, I caught your laziness." Temari yawned.

"Like you said, I'm a genius. What's going on?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari crossed her arms. "I need to see how Kanky's doing. If he goes 'emo' again, Gaara will kill me." Temari rolled her eyes.

* * *

"Temari?" A voice spoke through the phone.

"Yeah, Hinata?" Temari responded.

"You know what happened outside in the hallway today? You know, with Neji?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah. What about it?" Temari said.

"I told Chouji that I didn't know anything about it." Hinata admitted. "So if anyone asks you or Shikamaru, could you tell them I don't know anything."

"Yeah, sure. It's none of their business anyways." Temari said.

"Okay, thanks, Temari." Hinata said. "Ja ne (goodbye)."

"Ja ne (goodbye)." Temari said. She hung up the phone.

* * *

_At 7 o'clock…_

"Yahoo! Everyone's here! Dattebayo!" Naruto cheered.

"Now we can eat!" Chouji added.

"Hey, Naruto, 'yahoo' is _my_ line!" Kiba retorted at Naruto.

"So? I can use 'yahoo' whenever I want! And you can use 'dattebayo' when you want!" Naruto argued back.

"Who would want to use a stupid phrase like 'dattebayo'!" Kiba argued.

"A lot of people!" Naruto said.

"Okay, ummm, let's just go now." Hinata suggested.

"Humph. Fine." Kiba said.

"Fine!" Naruto said louder than Kiba.

"Fine!" Kiba said even louder.

"Fine!" Naruto said even louder.

Hinata sighed. She shrugged to Ino and Sakura. "I tried." She said.

"It's okay. I don't think there's a way to get through them." Ino said.

"Maybe there is…" Sakura said slyly. "Look! Ramen! Hamburger!" Sakura shouted, pointing to the elevator.

"What? Where?" Naruto and Kiba said, Naruto looking for ramen and Kiba looking for a hamburger.

"That was really smart, Sakura-san." Haruki commented.

Sakura rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, it was nothing. And call me Sakura; no need for 'san'."

"Okay, Sakura!" Haruki smiled excitedly.

"Can we go now?" Shikamaru asked, yawning.

"Why? So you can smex with Temari some more?" Ino raised an eyebrow, rhetorically, at Shikamaru.

Sakura, Naruto, and Chouji had another anime fall again.

'Not again.' Sakura thought.

"Nani (what)?!" Shikamaru, Hinata, Kiba, Haruki, and Kameko said with their eyes popping out.

Sakura got up and shouted to Ino, "What's wrong with you?! Have you been listening to Naruto and Jiraiya?!"

"Sakura!" Naruto whined.

"I'm just stating the obvious." Ino shrugged.

"Hn. How troublesome." Shikamaru crossed his arms.

Chouji's stomach started to grumble. "Can we leave now guys? I'm getting hungrier."

"Fine. Let's go." Ino said, stomping her way to the elevator with her arms crossed

Everybody else followed Ino into the elevator and somehow, all ten of them fit inside. Amazingly, there was still room for more people, but the other hotel guests who wanted to use the elevator waited for another elevator instead.

* * *

**A/N: **This chapter was a set-up where Haruki and Kameko meet everyone, except for Kankuro, Neji, and Tenten, so it was interesting to write. Now I have a good set-up! Yay!

**Song: **Crack the Code - 311. Odd title, I know. I was too lazy to find another song that would work. The only reason I chose this song is because it had the words 'a white lie' in it. All the other songs I found weren't as fitting and the songs I had didn't fit at all. So this song is for Hinata, who made a white lie.


	17. Day 3 Hate Look At Us Now Baby

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Naruto. If you read this disclaimer, tell me.**

**A/N: **Emotional chapter…I felt like doing something dramatic and touching. Did I say this was going to be when the group eats dinner? Oops, sorry! Didn't feel like it this week. I felt more 'emo' on Thursday night for some reason. Yeah, I started writing this on Thursday…can you say procrastinator? Oh yeah. I do my best work when I'm procrastinating. Seriously. But then I was all happy Friday because I made All-City Choir! So, I didn't write at all on Friday.

**Published January 7, 2007**

**Chapter 17 - Hate/Look At Us Now Baby**

_Kankuro's in **his** room. Tenten's in **her** room. The thoughts in their heads…_

'You said you wouldn't break my heart again.'

'I thought we were in love.'

'How could I be such a fool?'

'You lied to me and I believed you.'

'I'll never make that mistake again.'

'I never want to speak to you again.'

'I hate you.' Both thought at the same time.

Kankuro walked out his room with his head low. His eyes were barely open, only enough to see where he was going.

(**A/N:** Neji's in the bathroom or something.) Tenten stepped out of her room with an emotionless face, to get some fresher air.

Kankuro continued to walk. He had blocked out everything and everything around him. He dragged himself away from his room.

Tenten gasped. 'Oh no. Damn it. Of all times I had to come out.'

The sudden sound awoke Kankuro from his previous shield of emotions. He looked up to see the girl that broke his heart, the one that got away; the one that he thought he loved but now hated. His glare said it all. He was hurt and angered at the same time.

Tenten quickly turned her head away from him. It wasn't like she planned to come out at the _exact_ same time as him. It was just…a coincidence. She didn't want to look into his eyes. She wasn't going to play the fool this time.

"Hn." Kankuro grunted. He wanted to say something else, but what could he say, really? He wasn't going to beg for her back; she was just using him. He wasn't going to beat her to a pulp; that would be cruel punishment (and very out-of-character). All he could do was grunt.

Tenten sighed. It wasn't a sigh of relief. It wasn't a sigh of annoyance. It wasn't a sigh of disappointment. It wasn't a sigh of anything. It was just a sigh…a sigh with no emotion put into it, at all.

Kankuro started to walk again. He wanted to pass Tenten. It wasn't worth doing anything to or with her. He would never want to speak to her again. It was over. Everything was over.

* * *

"Kankuro?" Temari knocked on Kankuro's door. As surprising as it was, Temari was more caring than most thought. Yes, she _did_ ruin Kankuro's love life, but she still had to act like the older caring female to him too. "I know you're a little 'emo' right now, but can I come in?" She understated politely, being so out-of-character, if Shikamaru saw this, he would probably lose 10 IQ points.

There was no answer coming from the other side of the door. It was totally silent.

"Kankuro?" Temari kicked the door open, showing her usual character-ness, and saw an empty room. 'Great, I try to act all nice and caring and he's not even in here?!' Temari pouted. 'Fine, his loss. I had my speech all ready too.'

_10 seconds later…_

'Okay that's it! I'm bored!' Temari thought angrily in her head. She shot up from the couch with her arms crossed. "You better be close, little brother, or you're going to have to pay for the damage I put on this place." Temari muttered as she walked to the door.

* * *

"Thanks." Tenten whispered.

'What? Did she just thank me?' Kankuro turned around. He stared at Tenten's backside.

Tenten's head was down low. She was looking at her feet. Her hands turned into fists, shaking slightly, which looked like anger in Kankuro's eyes.

"I'm with Neji." Tenten whispered once more. 'He should be lucky I don't beat him to a pulp right _now_.'

"Thanks for rubbing it in." Kankuro whispered painfully, glaring at Tenten's backside. 'Is she _trying_ to make me feel worse?' He turned around and walked back to the elevator.

"Why?" Tenten barely spoke.

Kankuro turned around again. "What?" He said quietly. Kankuro barely heard a voice coming from Tenten.

"Why?" Tenten said a little louder, but still barely audible.

"Why _what_?" Kankuro asked coldly. He was, again, glaring at Tenten's backside.

Tenten rubbed a few tears away from her eyes and cheek with her arm. Once her face was dry, she turned around slowly. "Why didn't you tell me about Suna?" She mumbled.

'Suna?' Kankuro thought. "What are you talking about?" He spoke uncaringly. "There's nothing to tell."

"Bu-" Tenten started but was cut off by a sudden opening of a door.

It was bad timing for Tenten, but good timing for the person that stepped outside, Temari.

The first person Temari saw was Tenten. "Oh, hi Te-" Temari started with slight annoyance. Temari was still irritated that Kankuro wasn't in his room. "There you are, Kankuro." She released any significance of Tenten and turned to Kankuro. 'What are they doing out here?' Temari thought but brushed it off. "I need to talk to you, Kanky."

Kankuro trudged his way into Temari's room without a passing glance at Tenten. He was 'emo', not stupid. He knew when to listen to his sister. If it was anybody else, he would've stood where he was and maybe threaten him or her with a kunai to his or her head.

Tenten didn't do anything. She didn't really need to know the answer to why Kankuro kept his marriage-to-be a secret. It was just something she might as well ask while it was still fresh in her mind.

Rudely, Temari closed the door, without a goodbye, and Tenten was left standing alone, doing nothing.

* * *

"What do you want?" Kankuro grumbled on the couch. He stared aimlessly at the wall.

"You're 'emo'." Temari stated as if Kankuro didn't know.

"No duh." Kankuro muttered.

"Well, _that's_ no way to speak to your older sister!" Temari crossed her arms.

"What do you want?" Kankuro grumbled again.

Temari pointed to herself with her hands, "_I_ want Gaara to be happy to know that I didn't turn you into an 'I-need-a-therapist-because-I'm-emo' freak again. So I'm here to release you from your sorrow."

"So basically, you're just doing this for yourself?" Kankuro muttered rhetorically.

"Basically." Temari nodded.

Kankuro sighed. He stood up from the couch. "I'm going to sleep."

"Oh no you aren't!" Temari pushed Kankuro back down onto the couch.

"Temari…" Kankuro complained lowly.

"You aren't leaving this room until I get the normal Kankuro back, or at least after I tell you my speech." Temari joked.

Kankuro didn't find it very funny.

"Now, listen, and listen carefully." Temari advised. "Neji might kill me for this, which will all be your fault, but I guess it's the 'right' thing to do." Temari sighed. "Damn, Shikamaru, and his 'be good' routine." Temari said.

"Can you get to the point already?" Kankuro said impatiently.

"Hmph. Fine." Temari shrugged. "I lied to Tenten about you and now she thinks you are engaged and have an arranged marriage with a girl in Suna." Temari said easily, like it was nothing important.

"WHAT?!" Kankuro's eyes were filled with fire. "You lied to Tenten and said that I was engaged!" Kankuro started to shout.

Temari nodded simply.

"So that's why she--and you--what the hell?!" Kankuro shouted, not completing any sentences.

Temari sighed. "Hey, at least I told the truth this time." She pointed out.

"So! You still lied to Tenten!" Kankuro retorted loudly.

"Well you two wouldn't work out anyways!" Temari shouted back.

"We'd work out better than you and that Nara kid!" Kankuro continued to shout.

"You're a big idiot, you know that?! At least I see Shikamaru every now and then; at least we aren't in a relationship with someone else; at least we haven't broken up before, unlike you! You haven't seen Tenten since your team entered the Chuunin Exams; Tenten is involved with Neji; also, did you happen to forget that you two already broke up!" Temari yelled louder than she should have. She said too much.

Kankuro looked at the ground, away from Temari.

"Okay, I went a little too far there, but you know, it's true. I'm just doing what's best for you." Temari explained in her defense.

"Yeah, yeah." Kankuro mumbled. "Is that all you have to tell me?"

"Uhh…yeah?" Temari said, slightly unsure.

"Then I'm leaving." Kankuro stood up and opened the connecting door to his room.

Once the door was closed, Temari sighed heavily. She plopped herself on the couch. "_That_ went better than I thought." She said out loud.

* * *

"I'm going to train in the gym. Do you want to come?" Neji asked monotonously.

"No, thanks. I'll stay up here and find something else to do." Tenten smiled.

Neji nodded and left Tenten alone in the room.

Tenten sighed. 'Tenten, get you're mind off of him! He's engaged for goodness sakes!' Tenten told herself, but she still couldn't get her mind off of Kankuro. '_Don't! Okay! Just don't!_' Her inner-self demanded. 'But…' Tenten sighed. '_Neji loves you! You can't think about another man when you're with someone else!_' Her inner-self explained. 'You're right…'

_After 10 minutes of talking to her inner-self…_

'I hate him! I wish I had never met him! He's just messing with my head!' Tenten thought angrily in her head. 'You are so annoying. I don't know how I ever liked you!'

At that moment, Tenten's stomach started to grumble. Tenten put a hand on her stomach. 'Aww, man. I'm hungry.' She sighed. 'I wonder what the others are doing.'

Tenten stood up from the couch and walked to the connecting door. She knocked on the door next to her room, but there was no answer. She opened the door. 'No one's in here.' She stated. Then she walked to the other connecting door and decided to go ahead and open it. There was no one in there either. She ran to the next connecting door to find that it was, as well, empty.

Tenten sighed. 'I guess they went out without me.' She slowly trudged back to her room.

* * *

Kankuro sighed. '_You haven't seen Tenten since…Tenten is involved with…you two already broke up!_' Kankuro remembered what Temari told him. 'Temari's right…wait a minute…Temari's right?' Kankuro shook his head. Was he thinking right? 'Temari's right?' He thought again. I guess his thinking _was_ correct. 'If it really _is_ the end, than that's that.'

As soon as his thought ended, the connecting door opened. "Kankuro!" Temari whined like a baby to Kankuro with her hand on her stomach. "Kankuro, I'm hungry!" She complained.

"What do you want _me_ to do about it?!" Kankuro said in an angrily but playful way.

"Kankuro!" Temari whined again.

Kankuro sighed. "Fine. We'll order room service." He muttered.

"Yes!" Temari said successfully.

'Sometimes I wonder if she's really my 'older' sister.' Kankuro thought.

* * *

'I guess I might as well hang with Neji. Maybe _he's_ hungry too.' Tenten sighed as her stomach growled again. She trudged out the door and into the elevator.

_3 minutes later on floor 73…_

Tenten saw Neji sitting down drinking some water. 'He must've been working out pretty hard. He's all sweaty.' Tenten walked to Neji. "Hi, Neji." Tenten waved slightly.

"Hello, Tenten." Neji said formally. He wiped his forehead with a hotel towel.

"How's training?" Tenten asked sweetly.

"Fine." Neji said simply, taking another gulp of water.

Tenten sighed in her head. '_That_ was a great conversation.' She thought sarcastically.

"If you want me to stop training, you could just say so." Neji pointed out, noticing Tenten's silence.

Tenten blushed slightly. "Oh, no, you can continue." She waved her hands in front of herself. "I just wanted to see you. That's all."

Neji knew Tenten was lying, but let it go. "I don't feel like training anymore." He said. "I'm kind of hungry." He stated.

'Yes! We can eat now!' Tenten cheered in her head, but acted normally. "Oh, okay." She said. "Do you want to eat dinner now?"

"Mm." Neji nodded.

"Okay, where do you want to go?" Tenten asked.

"Your choice." Neji stated.

"Ummm…doesn't matter." Tenten said.

"You must want _something_ in particular." Neji said.

"No, not really. I'm just hungry." Tenten said, putting her hand on her stomach.

"Then let's order room service. Quick and easy. We won't have to go anywhere." Neji suggested.

"Okay!" Tenten smiled cheerfully at Neji.

Neji smirked at Tenten. 'She looks kind of cute when she smiles like that.'

* * *

_In Kankuro's room after ordering two plates of almost the same food…_

"Temari! Food's here!" Kankuro shouted in the direction of Temari's room.

"I'm right here, baka (idiot). No need to scream." Temari said, drying her hair off with a towel. She was now in her pajamas after taking a shower.

Kankuro scratched the top of his head with his index finger. "Which one's mine?" He asked rhetorically.

Temari walked over to the plates of food. "Baka (idiot)!" She hit Kankuro on the head with her fist. "Why didn't you ask the room service guy which plate was which?!" Temari scolded.

"I wasn't thinking!" Kankuro retorted.

"Yeah, you never think!" Temari retorted back.

"Well, maybe you should've ordered something different!" Kankuro raised his voice.

"_You_ should have ordered something different." Temari raised back. "Eat it, now!"

"Why can't you?!" Kankuro shouted.

"Because I'm your older sister and you have to listen to me!" Temari explained.

"What if I'm allergic to your food?! Then you'll have to take care of me!" Kankuro pointed out.

"Oh…" Temari said in a normal volume. "Heh…fine." She pouted slightly. Temari took a fork and tried both plates of food. "You're such a baby, Kanky. The left one's mine. Nice and spicy. I don't know how you can live without spicy food."

"Whatever. Just let me eat in peace." Kankuro said, taking his plate to the couch.

Temari stuck her tongue out at Kankuro. "Have I _ever_ let you eat in peace?" She said, sitting herself down next to Kankuro on the couch.

* * *

_In Neji and Tenten's room after useless and pointless unneeded room service ordering…_

Neji was in the bathroom taking a shower. Tenten was watching TV, waiting on the couch for the food to come.

_15 minutes later…_

"How was your shower?" Tenten asked. 'W-What did you just say?! Stupid, stupid, stupid! What kind of question is that?! You sounded so perverted!' Tenten scolded to herself.

"Umm…good." Neji answered as best as he could.

Tenten giggled nervously as she took her food and sat on the sofa with Neji following. 'Well _that_ was embarrassing.' She thought as she started eating her dinner.

Tenten and Neji ate a very silent meal…you could hear the clanking of forks on plates, some mild chewing, and maybe even a cricket or two outside.

Out of nervousness, Tenten slyly turned on the TV. Unfortunately she landed on the MTV channel and there just happened to be a video playing which just so happened to be I Wanna Love You by Akon. Tenten basically went berserk in her head. 'Oh crud, crud, crud.' She tried her hardest to hold in a blush, which she did quite well.

As quickly as you can say 'How much would could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck would?' which actually is pretty long, Tenten clicked the off button on the remote.

'Well that was even more embarrassing than before. Gosh, I'm making a fool out of myself.' Tenten sighed heavily, with her eyes closed, head hung low.

With a jolt of confidence, Neji did what his heart, and part of his head, told him to do. He leaned over and kissed Tenten on the cheek. (**A/N:** Awww, how kawaii…) It was an unexpected act to both.

Tenten had tried hiding a blush for too long. She couldn't help but blush madly.

Neji leaned back in place and blushed slightly. He turned away and continued to eat his food, as if nothing had happened.

Tenten stared at Neji for a moment. "What was that for?" She asked softly, looking back down at her food.

"It was in the book (referring to the book Tenten handed Neji in chapter 7)." Neji stated monotonously, yet with some embarrassment.

"You still have that?" Tenten looked at Neji.

Neji nodded slightly.

"Thanks." Tenten said smiling with her head back down at her food.

Neji suddenly stopped eating. He paused for a moment. "I love you." He said quickly without hesitation. '_What did you say?! We never agreed to that?!_' Neji's brain said. '_Yes we did! Way to go Neji!_' Neji's 'emotional' brain said.

'Did I hear him right?' Tenten asked herself. '_I-I think so._' Her inner-self answered. At that moment, Tenten did the only thing she could think of at the moment. She put down her food and wrapped her arms around Neji, laying her head down on his shoulder.

It was a good thing Neji had good balance, or his food would've spilled all over the place. Gracefully, Neji put his plate of almost finished food down and returned Tenten's hug.

"I love you, too, Neji." Tenten responded.

At first, Neji was a tad shocked, but smirked a moment later, closing his eyes and embracing Tenten more than before.

* * *

**A/N: **I think I personally made Temari OOC…bad me! I also made Neji even more OOC…tisk tisk me, tisk tisk. I have an excuse! He's in love! Bad excuse? Oh wells! Nothing a little ramen can't fix! You want ramen? I kind of have a craving for it…but instant ramen has so much sodium! It'll kill you! Lol. You salty, but delicious, menace…

**Song: **The first song is Hate (I Really Don't Like You) by Plain White T's. It's an okay song to hear once in a while, but not a forever fave. The song fits perfectly, word by word. 'You were everything I wanted, you were everything a girl could be, then you left me, brokenhearted, now you don't mean a thing to me, all I wanted was your, love.' It was meant for my story! Lol. Well the beginning of my story anyways. The second song is Look At Us Now Baby by Sarina Paris. It's just a song that sorta fit and happened to listen to.


	18. Day 3 You Don't Want To Know

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Nuff' said. lol.**

**A/N: **Another week, another chapter. Would you believe me if I said I started writing this on Friday? Well, you should because I did! I hope you **ShikaTema** fans like this ending! (Did that bold-faced 'ShikaTema' catch your eye?)

**Published January 14, 2007**

**Chapter 18 - You Don't Want To Know**

_Day 3…still…for the last time…_

"How troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

"Oh, stop whining! It's not that bad!" Ino said, thankful that she was as skinny as she was. "Scoot your big butt, Sakura!" She scoffed. "And I thought your _forehead_ was big. Your butt is _ten times_ bigger!"

"Oh, shut it, Ino-pig. At least I _have_ a butt. You're just skin and bones." Sakura crossed her arms.

_As it seems, unluckily, there wasn't enough room for Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Hinata, Kiba, Rock Lee, Haruki, and Kameko to each have their own seat at the burger joint. Instead, they had to fit in one long booth, which was intended for 6 or 7, not 10. So on one side of the table sat Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Chouji, Hinata, and Kiba. On the other side, sat Shikamaru, Rock Lee, Haruki, and Kameko. Everyone already ordered some drinks (**A/N:** which aren't important enough for me to make up)._

"This sucks! Humph." Ino pouted.

"Stop whining; it's not that bad." Shikamaru used Ino's phrase at her monotonously.

Ino stuck her tongue out at Shikamaru like a first grader. "_You_ have three other people on your side. I have…" Ino paused to count. "…I have five!"

"Why didn't you just call in advance like I said?" Shikamaru sighed.

"You never said that!" Ino argued.

"Well, I was thinking it." Shikamaru yawned.

"Well, next time, you do it!" Ino started to shout.

"Come on, Ino. Don't make a scene." Chouji advised kindly.

Ino sighed. "Fine." She forced herself to say. 'Your lucky Chouji's here, Shikamaru.' She pouted.

"Are you done yet? Everyone else is ready to order." Sakura notified.

"Ugh. Gee, Sakura, have some patience." Ino rolled her eyes.

"Just hurry it up, Ino-pig! I'm hungry!" Sakura warned angrily.

"Sakura's kind of creepy when she's angry…" Chouji whispered to Ino.

"Yeah…and she calls _me_ the pig." Ino rolled her eyes again, looking at the menu. "What are _you_ ordering, Chouji?"

"You don't wanna know." Chouji advised.

Ino sighed. "Okay…" Ino said slowly.

"What are _you_ ordering, billboard-brow?" Ino raised an eyebrow at Sakura.

"A vegetarian burger with extra onions." Sakura stated.

"Hmm…I'll have a vegetarian burger too…with hot peppers." Ino nodded, putting her menu on the table.

Sakura sighed. "I don't know how you can eat that. It's like giving heartburn to your whole body."

"You're such a sissy, Sakura." Ino said.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am n-"

"Is everyone ready to order?" A waiter, who looked around 19 or 20, asked politely.

"Yup!" Kiba answered for everyone. "I'll have three mega-ultra large jumbo burgers, please! Medium-rare!" He said proudly.

"I-I'll have a chicken burger." Hinata said in her soft, stuttering voice. She wasn't too loud around strangers.

"I'll have three mega-ultra large jumbo burgers as well! Make mine medium-rare too!" Chouji said, accepting an unofficial challenge from Kiba. 'No one will beat me at eating!'

Ino shook her head at Chouji. "A veggie burger with hot peppers. Medium-well." She told the waiter.

"Veggie burger, extra onions, medium-well." Sakura stated.

"Pork and miso ramen!" Naruto cheered his order.

Sakura stared at Naruto for a second, but just shook her head.

"I'll have the soup special." Shikamaru yawned.

"One medium-rare hamburger, please!" Rock Lee said youthfully. "There aren't any squirrels in it, are there?" Rock Lee asked the waiter.

The waiter looked strangely at Rock Lee, but shook his head.

"Make that two!" Haruki said.

"Make that three!" Kameko added.

The waiter miraculously wrote down everyone's order correctly and took the menus. "Your food will be coming shortly." He smiled. Then he turned around and walked away.

Sakura sighed. "Must you order ramen _everywhere_? We're at a burger place; couldn't you order something other than ramen?"

"But Sakura! Ramen's my favorite! Dattebayo!" Naruto cheered.

Sakura sighed again, leaning her head on Naruto's shoulder. "Sometimes I think you love ramen more than me." She said playfully.

"Yup." Naruto said quickly, not thinking about what he just agreed to.

"What?!" Sakura sat up straight. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"N-Nothing, Sakura. I-I wasn't thinking?" Naruto waved his hands frantically.

"Do you ever think?" Ino butt-in.

"Shut it, Ino-pig! This is between me and Naruto-baka (idiot) over here!" Sakura's inner-self started to influence Sakura.

"Humph." Ino tried to cross her arms, but there wasn't enough room. Instead, she started talking to Chouji.

"So," Sakura glared at Naruto. ", if you had to choose between a lifetime of free ramen or me, which would you choose." Sakura glared even more at Naruto.

"Uhhh…umm…Shikamaru? Any advice?" Naruto asked Shikamaru who was sitting across from him.

Shikamaru yawned. "Answer her question."

"That doesn't help!" Naruto said.

"Whatever. I'm going to sleep." Shikamaru said, dozing off.

"So, what's your answer, Naruto?!" Sakura said loudly.

"Ummm…you?" He said hesitantly.

Sakura sighed. "I guess you're not _too_ much of an idiot."

_While Sakura and Naruto were talking about ramen…_

"You just _had_ to order three of those burgers!" Ino scolded Chouji.

"Kiba was going to eat more than me! I can't let him do that!" Chouji defended himself.

"Chouji! That's so immature!" Ino exclaimed.

"But it's true, isn't it?!" Chouji asked.

Ino was silent.

"Ha! See! It _is_ true! I can't let _Kiba_ take away my title." Chouji said, feeling superior.

"_What_ title?!" Ino said frustratingly.

"The title for eating the most at a meal." Chouji stated obviously.

"Who would _want_ that title?! You're better off _without_ it!" Ino argued.

"Well it would be nice to _have_ a title at all!" Chouji argued back.

"_I_ don't have a title! _I'm_ perfectly fine with it!" Ino bickered.

"But I _want_ a title!" Chouji said.

Ino sighed loudly. "Nobody cares if you have a title or not! _I_ don't care if you have a title or not."

"You don't?" Chouji said in a normal volume.

Ino shook her head. "No, I don't." She giggled a bit. "You thought I did?" She raised a devious eyebrow at Chouji.

"N-No. Of course not." Chouji lied rather badly.

Ino giggled more. "Titles aren't that great."

"But you would _mind_ one." Chouji stated.

Ino sighed. "I _guess_ not."

"Then my point is proven." Chouji nodded proudly.

_While Sakura and Naruto were talking about ramen and Ino and Chouji were talking about titles…_

"Why did you order so much! Do you know what you just ordered?" Hinata said, concerned at Kiba.

"But I _love_ hamburgers!" Kiba pouted. "It's not _that_ much." He mumbled.

"Oh yeah, three mega-ultra large jumbo burgers isn't a lot." Hinata said sarcastically.

"Exactly!" Kiba didn't see the sarcastic-ness.

"I was being sarcastic! Do you even know what's in hamburgers?!" Hinata asked, disciplining Kiba like a mother to a child who just ate too much candy.

"Ham?" Kiba answered dumbfounded.

Hinata sighed, laughing as she shook her head. "No." She stated plainly. "You don't really want to know though."

"What? What's in them?" Kiba asked, really wanting to know.

"I told you; you don't want to know." Hinata said again.

"But Hinata! Please?" Kiba pouted like the little puppy Akamaru used to be.

"Kiba, it is better if you don't know." Hinata said.

Kiba pouted differently now, in a slightly frustrated way. "You're really strict sometimes, Hinata."

"I'm just doing this for you." Hinata explained.

"I know, but still!" Kiba sounded like a little boy.

"Kiba! How long are we going to talk about this?" Hinata asked.

"Not until I find out what are in hamburgers!" Kiba said.

"Fine. I'll tell you." Hinata said.

"Yahoo!" Kiba said.

Hinata whispered something into Kiba's ears.

Kiba's eyes widened. He stared at the table for a long while.

"Kiba, are you okay?" Hinata asked.

"No, not really." Kiba said truthfully.

"It's not _that_ bad." Hinata said. "Nothing you can't get over. At least you didn't ask what's inside a hot dog. Now _that's_ a different story."

_While Sakura and Naruto were talking about ramen, Ino and Chouji were talking about titles, and Hinata and Kiba were talking about food ingredients…_

"What time is it, Kameko?" Haruki whispered to Kameko.

Kameko looked at her watch and showed it to Haruki. "It's getting late. I think we should leave right after we eat." She suggested in a whisper.

Haruki nodded. "Umm, Rock Lee?" She said hesitantly.

"Yes, Haruki-chan?" Rock Lee said in an innocent voice.

"Kameko and I have to get home as soon as possible, so we'll be leaving right after dinner. Is that alright with you?" Haruki asked as politely as possible.

"Of course! The youth will always have the correct answer!" Rock Lee said proudly. "Your parents will probably worry about you."

"Actually…" Haruki looked down, suddenly saddened. "…Kameko is the only family I have. We're orphans." Haruki said quietly, but loud enough for Rock Lee to hear.

"I am so sorry. I did not mean to bring back any hurtful memories." Rock Lee apologized.

"No, it's okay!" Haruki smiled politely. "You didn't know. We just have to get home before it gets too dark in the alleys; plus, we have to work early tomorrow."

"Do not worry! I, Rock Lee, promise to transport you and Kameko to your home safely!" Rock Lee vowed dramatically.

"Really?! Oh, thank you, Rock Lee!" Haruki cheered with her arms bent in front of her and her hands in fists, waving excitedly. She turned to Kameko. "Kameko! Rock Lee said he would take us home! Isn't that great?!"

"Thank you, Rock Lee! You are very kind!" Kameko said excitedly.

_A little after Sakura and Naruto were talking about ramen, Ino and Chouji were talking about titles, Hinata and Kiba were talking about food ingredients, and Rock Lee, Haruki, and Kameko were cheering for joy and youth…_

'These people are too loud…' Shikamaru thought. 'How am I supposed to sleep?' He sighed in his head. 'At least Temari didn't come. I don't need to talk to her about ramen, titles, food ingredients, or joy and youth.' He said to himself. 'Why am I so tired right now?' He asked himself. 'I'm more tired than usual…'

* * *

_After receiving their food…_

Chouji glared at Kiba. Kiba glared back at Chouji. Their meal was not just a meal, but a title that could be won by only one. The, more dramatic than needed, glare ended, thanks to Ino.

"Umm…aren't you gonna eat now?" Ino asked both boys. "It's just food."

Once Ino finished her sentence, Chouji and Kiba both turned to their plates of burger and started shoveling it into their mouths. The sight wasn't something you would want to see. It was as bad as seeing a dog barf up worms (**A/N:** That happened to my sister's dog!).

"I think I'm losing my appetite…" Ino covered her mouth.

"Me too." Sakura's eye started to twitch at the sight of the barbaric eating techniques.

"Mmm…this is good ramen, Sakura! It's almost as good at Ichiraku's!" Naruto said, slurping up some of his ramen, not caring about what else was going on.

"That's great, Naruto." Sakura said, not paying attention to him. "I guess we'll have to eat sometime, Ino."

"You're right, forehead-girl." Ino nodded. She gulped loudly as she picked up her burger and took a small bite of it. "Hey, this is pretty good, forehead-girl."

Sakura took her burger and took a bite, slightly bigger than Ino's. "Yeah, it's pre--ahhh!" She shrieked.

"What is it, Sakura-chan?!" Naruto said, subconsciously looking around for an enemy attacking.

"The-ther-there's hot peppers in here!" Sakura pointed to her burger like it was a demented rat mutated by Rock Lee's favorite squirrel.

Ino removed the top bun from the burger. "Well look at that. There _are_ hot peppers in there." Ino said simply, almost happy that Sakura got the wrong order.

"Oh, thanks for being so concerned, Ino-pig." Sakura said sarcastically.

"It's not like the end of the world, billboard-brow. They just got our orders mixed up." Ino switched the two burgers. "_I_ just hope I don't get any _ugly_ germs from you. Ugh." Ino jokingly shivered in disgust.

Sakura made a childish face at Ino.

"Hey, Shikamaru? Aren't you gonna be hungry with just soup?" Ino asked, changing the conversation.

"No." Shikamaru said plainly.

"But it's just soup. Where's the substance? I mean it's just vegetable and soup." Ino asked.

"Do you know who you're asking?" Shikamaru asked back monotonously.

"But it's just soup! I'm just saying it doesn't seem that interesting." Ino said.

"Well, I didn't ask for your opinion." Shikamaru said.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Well, _someone_ woke up on the wrong side of Temari this morning."

"Ino!" Sakura whacked Ino on the back of her head.

"Ow! What was _that_ for, billboard-brow?!" Ino rubbed the back of her head.

"Stop speaking perverted stuff about Shikamaru and Temari." Sakura said.

"Like I said before, I'm just speaking the truth. I mean it probably _is_ true." Ino said.

"Even if it is, you don't have to say it out loud!" Sakura said.

"We're all mature enough to handle it, except for maybe you, forehead-girl." Ino said.

"Humph." Sakura turned back to her food and started eating quickly.

Kiba and Chouji continued to eat their three large burgers, with one being about the size of a dinner plate. In the end…Chouji beat Kiba by half of a burger.

"Awww, man! I lost!" Kiba complained.

"There wasn't anything to be won." Hinata said, taking a bite of her burger.

"The title!" Kiba whined. He whimpered. "Just say it."

"Say what?" Hinata asked, finishing the last bite of her burger.

"Say, 'I told you so'." Kiba said.

"Why would I say that?" Hinata asked innocently.

"Because you were right and I was wrong. I shouldn't have ordered so much food." Kiba forced himself to mutter.

Hinata had a sweet smile on her face. "Thanks for thinking I'm so insensitive!" Hinata said honestly, since everyone else thought she was the same quiet genin she used to be.

"Umm…you're welcome?" Kiba said hesitantly.

Hinata nodded. Then she wrapped her arms around Kiba's neck and kissed him on the lips.

"Hey, hey! Go make out at the hotel, not here!" Ino said.

"Ino!" Sakura whacked Ino on the back of her head again.

"What?! Do _you_ want to see Hinata and Kiba make out in front of us?" Ino sided.

Sakura thought for a second. "Good point. This is a family restaurant!"

"It was just a quick kiss!" Kiba shouted to Sakura and Ino.

"Well, you don't need to do it here!" Ino shouted back.

"It's none of your business what I do!" Kiba argued.

"It _is_ if our whole group is around you!" Ino retorted.

As Ino and Kiba continued their loud bickering, Chouji was left in the middle to do nothing but sit there and listen to the high volume of Ino in one ear and Kiba in the other.

'I think I'm going deaf.' Chouji thought.

* * *

_After Ino and Kiba's bickering died down and some light conversation was finished…_

"Would any of you care for dessert?" The same waiter from before asked.

"Umm…" Chouji looked around the table for a response from anyone.

Ino shrugged. Sakura shrugged. Naruto gave a grin and nod. Shikamaru had his arms on the table with his head resting on his arms as a pillow; he was sleeping, so he gave no response. Rock Lee paused for a moment; then he suddenly went into his 'nice-guy' pose and a ping could be seen and heard from his teeth. Haruki and Kameko both shook their heads. Hinata shook her head slightly. Kiba shook his head as well after looking at Hinata.

"…sure!" Chouji cheered.

"Here you go." The waiter handed some menus, half the size of the regular menu, to Chouji.

"I think we should go now." Haruki whispered to Kameko.

"Yeah." Kameko whispered back.

"Lee, Kameko and I have to go now." Haruki said.

"Mm." Rock Lee nodded. "Excuse me, but I must fulfill my duties and transport Haruki and Kameko back home." He said dramatically.

"Okay…see ya!" Ino said.

Kameko stood up, about to leave. "It was a wonderful experience to meet all of you!" She said politely.

Haruki stood up as well. "Yes, it was an experience that I will always remember!" She agreed.

"Ja ne (goodbye)!" Rock Lee said, waving his arm.

"Ja ne (goodbye)!" Everyone else responded.

_Seven seconds after Rock Lee, Haruki, and Kameko left…Kiba and Hinata decided to move to the other side of the booth…_

"Who wants to look at the menu?" Chouji asked.

"Thanks, Chouji!" Ino took a menu and passed it down to Sakura who passed it down to Naruto. Then she took another menu and passed it to Sakura. Finally, she took one more menu for herself.

"I'll take one." Hinata said, raising her hand out to Chouji.

Chouji handed Hinata a menu.

"I--but I thought you didn't want any dessert." Kiba said, confused.

"Well, I didn't want any unless someone else wanted some as well. It would be awkward if I was the only one who wanted dessert." Hinata explained. "Why? Did you want something?"

"Yeah! I only said no so you wouldn't feel bad if I was eating and you weren't." Kiba said.

"That's cute…" Hinata rested her head on Kiba's shoulder as she looked through the menu. "Hey, they have my favorite."

"Oh no." Kiba sighed.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Hinata asked.

"Cinnamon rolls get you a little crazy…" Kiba said hesitantly.

"What?!" Hinata took her head off of Kiba's shoulder and glared at him.

"I'm just speaking the truth!" Kiba defended nervously.

"Well, I'm getting it anyways." Hinata said.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "I'll share with you."

_While Kiba and Hinata were talking…_

"They have a berry cheesecake…that doesn't sound _too_ unhealthy." Sakura said, browsing the pages of the menu.

"Please. Anything with cheesecake is going to be crazy with calories." Ino said.

"We're on vacation. I think we can indulge a little on the calories." Chouji pointed out.

Ino looked at Sakura; Sakura looked at Ino. Both of them nodded. It was like they agreed with each other with ESP. "We want the supreme chocolate lava volcano cake!" They said in unison.

"Me too! Dattebayo!" Naruto added in a cheer.

"I think I'll get the cheesecake." Chouji said.

"Really?" Ino said.

"Yeah…I think I'm getting kind of full." Chouji said, rubbing his stomach.

"Wow, the weather must be changing your appetite or something." Ino said. "You got a fever or something?" She put her hand on Chouji's forehead.

"I don't eat _that_ much." Chouji said.

Ino sighed. "I guess not." She was kind of tired, so she didn't have a rebuttal.

"Is everyone ready to order?" The same waiter asked.

"Yeah!" Kiba answered for everyone again. He pointed at Hinata with his thumb. "_She_ wants the cinnamon buns." He rolled his eyes at Hinata.

Hinata made a 'you're-such-a-baby' look at Kiba.

"I'll have a berry cheesecake." Chouji said.

"We'll have the supreme chocolate lava volcano cake!" Sakura and Ino said together.

"Are you two twins?" The waiter asked.

"No way!" Both said in disgust.

"I look nothing like billboard-brow over here!" Ino said, getting away from Sakura.

"Like I would ever want to look like Ino-pig!" Sakura crossed her arms.

"S-Sorry. Didn't mean to offend anyone." The waiter said, embarrassed.

"No problem. They _always_ act like that." Chouji reassured.

"I see. Would you like to order anything else?" The waiter asked the group.

"I want a chocolate lava cake supreme cake volcano chocolate, whatever it's called, too! Dattebayo!" Naruto said, baffled by his dessert's name.

"Coming right away!" The waiter said, almost running back to the kitchen.

_5 quick minutes later…_

"Here's your dessert." The same waiter said, handing out the ordered dessert. "Here are some extra forks and plates if you need them." He said before he scurried back to the kitchen.

"Mmm! This looks so good!" Ino took a spoon and quickly dug into the chocolate volcano. As soon as she took a piece of cake, hot chocolate syrup started drizzling down the cake. "Oh my kami! That is delicious!"

Sakura took a big piece of the cake and quickly stuffed it into her mouth. "Oh my kami! That's the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten! It's heaven!" She exaggerated.

"This cheesecake is amazing!" Chouji said with his mouth still stuffed with a thick piece of cheesecake.

"See, cinnamon buns don't make me crazy." Hinata said, continuing to bite her cinnamon bun.

"Not yet, but it will." Kiba looked glaringly at the cinnamon bun like it was a dog trying to steal Akamaru's favorite bone. Then he took a vicious bite of another cinnamon bun.

Hinata saw the fierceness of Kiba's bite. "Umm…okay, Kiba…" She said hesitantly. 'I think _he's_ the one that's going crazy.'

"Mmm!" Naruto said with his mouthful of chocolate cake. "t-is ish shome goo- -a-e!" He said, trying to say 'this is some good cake!' but failed miserably.

"No duh, Naruto." Ino said.

"Naruto! You have chocolate all over your face." Sakura said. She put down her fork and wiped Naruto's face with his napkin. "You make such a mess."

"Sakura!" Naruto whined, kind of embarrassed that Sakura was cleaning up his face like a he was a baby.

"It's better than walking around with chocolate all over your face!" Sakura pointed out.

"Yes, Sakura-chan." Naruto mumbled, pouting.

_After finishing their desserts…and receiving the bill…_

"So…" Kiba said insinuating something. "…who's paying for the bill?"

"Uhh…" Ino, Sakura, Chouji, and Naruto said.

"We shouldn't have let Lee and those fangirls go yet." Sakura said with her hand on her forehead, shaking her head.

"Does everyone _have_ money?" Chouji asked and looked at someone specific.

Naruto saw Chouji look at him. "I don't." He admitted.

"I know…" Ino had a devious look on her face. Her hands were rubbing against each other like a mad scientist. "Shikamaru has money." She whispered to everyone.

"But he already paid for the night before." Chouji said, feeling bad for his best friend.

"Well, he shouldn't have fallen asleep! Kiba, get his money!" Ino ordered.

"Yahoo!" Kiba said. He slyly took out Shikamaru's wallet and took out the amount of money needed to pay the bill. 'Might as well see what he has in here.' Kiba thought after taking out the money. "Awww, look at that. Shikamaru keeps a picture of Temari in his wallet." Kiba said sarcastically.

"Well, that's odd. He actually went through all the trouble to get a picture of Temari?" Ino said.

"That's _very_ odd." Sakura agreed with a nod.

"Oh well! Put it back, Kiba." Ino demanded.

Kiba put Shikamaru's wallet back where he found it.

"Shikamaru…" Ino poked Shikamaru's arm. "Shikamaru…" She said again, softly. "Shikamaru! Wake up, you lazy bum!" Ino said frustratingly.

"Huh?" Shikamaru lifted his head up with a slight drool from his lip.

"It's time to go!" Ino said.

"Already? But we just got here." Shikamaru said lazily.

"We've been here for two hours!" Ino shouted.

"Wha?" Shikamaru said. 'Did she say two hours?'

"Come on! Everybody's leaving!" Ino said loudly.

"Ugh…fine." Shikamaru lazily stood up very slowly.

"Hurry up!" Ino whined.

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru waved a hand in front of him.

_The seven ninjas left the burger joint and started walking back to the hotel…_

"I think ramen has too much salt. You'll probably die from all the sodium in there!" Hinata said in a very out-of-character voice.

"Umm…okay." Sakura said. "What's up with her? Hinata's acting weird." She whispered to Kiba.

"She gets a little out-of-character when she eats cinnamon buns. Don't ask why." Kiba explained in a whisper.

"It's true. Ramen does have a lot of salt. Barbeque is much healthier." Chouji said.

"But it's so delicious! I love it! Dattebayo!" Naruto said.

"Naruto…" Sakura growled.

"But not as much as I love you, Sakura-chan." Naruto laughed nervously, saving his butt from a beating with Sakura _and_ inner-Sakura.

"Yeah, you better!" Sakura warned.

"Sakura, that's sad. You have to threaten your boyfriend so he loves you more than ramen. I pity you, billboard-brow." Ino said acting like she was better than Sakura.

"Whatever, Ino-pig!" Sakura responded.

"Great comeback, Sakura." Ino said sarcastically.

"Why I oughta…!" Sakura said.

_While everyone else was talking to each other through the many streets of restaurants…_

Shikamaru was behind everyone else with his hands in his pockets. He didn't have Temari to talk to. 'This is a drag. Why couldn't I just stay at the hotel?' He sighed. As if Neji's fate had hit Shikamaru in the head, Shikamaru saw a small stand. 'Hmm…' Shikamaru thought.

Everyone else was too busy to notice Shikamaru, so it was easy for him to quickly buy a bag of something at the small stand.

* * *

_Finally, upon arrival at the hotel on the 100th floor…everyone said their 'goodnight' and 'see you in the morning'…_

Chouji entered his room. "What are you doing, Rock Lee?" He asked, seeing Rock Lee pack some stuff into his suitcase.

"I am going to be staying at Haruki and Kameko's apartment to help them with some things." Rock Lee said. "Their youthful stories were so touching that I could not say no to staying with them." He said, crying happy chibi-tears.

"Okay…" Chouji shrugged.

_In Kankuro's room…_

"Hey Kankuro!" Naruto greeted Kankuro with a grin.

"Hey." Kankuro said monotonously. "I'm going to sleep." He said, standing up from the couch and turning off the TV.

"But it's only ten!" Naruto complained.

"So?" Kankuro said dully.

"Uhh…it's early?" Naruto said.

"Whatever. Don't bother me." Kankuro said.

Naruto crossed his arms. "Fine." Naruto pouted.

_In Temari's room…_

"Hn." Shikamaru said after walking into the room. It was his way of saying hello.

"What's that smell?" Temari asked.

"Here." Shikamaru put a small brown bag on the coffee table.

Temari looked suspiciously at Shikamaru for a second, but shrugged and opened the bag. "Y-You…who are you and what have you done with Shikamaru?!" She jumped back, away from Shikamaru.

"W-What?" Shikamaru said.

"Where's the _real_ Shikamaru?" Temari said.

"What are you talking about troublesome woman? I _am_ Shikamaru." Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru wouldn't go through all the trouble to buy me something. Now who the hell are you?!" Temari asked angrily.

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome woman; troublesome dinner; troublesome woman who made me go to the troublesome dinner to have a troublesome nap and I do something troublesome to try to give something nice to the troublesome woman and the troublesome woman thanks me by thinking I'm a troublesome imposter causing trouble." He muttered in one long breath.

"It's really you, Shikamaru?" Temari said taking a step forward.

"Yeah, troublesome woman." Shikamaru said lazily.

"Well why are you so out-of-character?! I didn't even think you were paying attention to our conversation earlier." Temari sat down on the couch and put her hand in the bag. She took out a roasted chestnut and started peeling the outside off.

"I have no idea…" Shikamaru said truthfully, sitting down next to Temari.

"Well, thanks." Temari said quickly, but a little angrily.

"That was _really_ out-of-character." Shikamaru muttered.

"Yeah, so don't expect me to say it again!" Temari said.

"I hope not. That was creepy." Shikamaru mumbled with his eyes closed.

"I think it's safe to say that we're both out-of-character and it scares the hell out of us." Temari said, biting into a roasted chestnut.

"Hn." Shikamaru agreed.

"Roasted chestnut?" Temari said, holding the bag of chestnuts in front of Shikamaru.

"Might as well. If we're going to be out-of-character, might as well go all the way." Shikamaru sighed, taking a roasted chestnut out of the bag. "These are pretty good."

"Of course they are! Are you saying you thought I had bad taste?!" Temari playfully said as if she was offended.

"No…I thought the guy at the stand gave me a bad bag." Shikamaru explained.

"Do you have an explanation for _everything_?" Temari asked.

"Yeah." Shikamaru nodded slightly.

Temari looked deviously at Shikamaru. She put the bag of chestnuts down and decided to go for what her evil mind had told her to do. Temari quickly moved towards Shikamaru and kissed him hard on the lips, but quickly backed away to where she had been before as if nothing had happened. Temari tried ever-so hard not to laugh, but couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Explain _that_, genius."

Shikamaru had a look of shock unlike any other. He tried to hide his blush but it wasn't working to well. He shook his head vigorously. "Do you _always_ have to prove me wrong, woman?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari just nodded in superiority. "So how was dinner?" She continued to chuckle.

"You don't want to know." Shikamaru answered.

"Don't tell me. You slept through the whole thing, huh?" Temari jokingly said.

"Not the whole thing…just after I finished eating." Shikamaru mumbled.

"You really did sleep through dinner! That's sad, Shikamaru!" Temari said in a slight scold.

"So how was _your_ dinner?" Shikamaru said, changing the subject.

"You don't want to know. Really…" Temari said.

"That bad?" Shikamaru said with slight disbelief.

"You have no idea. It was just…interesting…" Temari said.

"Fine." Shikamaru shrugged.

Temari decided to turn of the TV since the two were in silence.

_After 20 minutes…_

"I'm going to sleep…" He yawned. Then he saw Temari next to him. She had already fallen asleep on the arm of the sofa. 'How troublesome.' He thought. Being the gentleman he was, Shikamaru carried Temari, bridal-style, to her bed.

Either Temari was a heavy sleeper or she was awake and wanted Shikamaru to carry her to her room. Once Shikamaru laid Temari down on her bed, he was about to let go of her, but Temari wouldn't let him. Temari must've been a pretty good actor because she pulled Shikamaru down as if she was dreaming. Since Shikamaru was too lazy to pull away from Temari, he sighed and lay down next to Temari.

'If Kankuro sees me with Temari in the same bed _again_, I'm dead.' Shikamaru thought. Sure enough though, he dozed off next to Temari.

Temari smirked. 'For a genius, he's an idiot.'

* * *

**A/N: **I must say this was a very fluffy and kawaii ending. Also, this was the longest chapter so far. 19 pages…new record!

**Annoucement!:** Rock Lee will not be in any of the chapters until the seventh (last) day. I can't find anything for him to do, so he'll be away helping Haruki and Kameko with their lives.

**Song: **You Don't Want To Know is a song, but I just made-up the title. Too lazy…again.


	19. Day 4 Lessons Learned Lucky Them

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Do _you_ know Masashi Kishimoto personally? I don't. **

**A/N: **Sorry for the lateness once again…I started writing on Saturday without any inspiration…it got lost on the way to my head…I can have the worst excuses…

P.S. The first part (with Kiba and Hinata) was without inspiration, but just a way to horribly start the chapter off…the rest of the chapter is much better though.

**Published January 22, 2007**

**Chapter 19 - Lessons Learned/Lucky Them**

_Day 4…starts off with Kiba and Hinata at 6:30 A.M.… (**A/N:** The time is early because if you think about it, non-lazy-butt ninjas would wake up early to start the day.)_

"Umm…Kiba…what's that?" Hinata pointed to a pile of blackish brown on a plate.

"I'm…not so sure anymore. It was _supposed_ to be breakfast. I guess I kinda suck at cooking." Kiba scratched the back of his head.

"Well, ummm…" Hinata tried poking the pile of 'food' with a fork. "…at least you made something." She said, thinking positive. "Plus, it may taste good. Looks aren't everything." With a bit of confidence and desperation for some breakfast, Hinata took a bite of whatever Kiba had created.

Kiba decided to follow suit and quickly put a piece of the 'food' in his mouth.

Hinata's face made a funny shape. Her right eye started to twitch. "It's…it's not _that_ bad."

"Blech." Kiba said, spitting out his food into the garbage can. "It tastes like Akamaru's dung."

"Wha?!" Hinata leaned away from Kiba subconsciously. "You've eaten Akamaru's dung?"

"No!" Kiba said. 'I guess that came out a little wrong.' He thought. "Akamaru's dung smells like, ummm, dung, and your sense of smell can connect with your sense of taste, so--"

"--so, that means that you could almost taste what dung would taste like without actually tasting it." Hinata finished for Kiba.

Kiba nodded proudly. He felt so smart.

"Yeah, I remember learning that stuff when I was 4." Hinata said.

Kiba suddenly didn't feel as smart as he did two seconds ago. "So what do we do now?" He asked with his hand on his belly.

"I don't know. I guess we could go downstairs and eat some breakfast in the cafeteria." Hinata suggested.

"Good idea, Hinata!" Kiba grinned.

_5 minutes later in the elevator…_

"So yesterday's dinner was pretty nice, huh?" Hinata said sweetly.

"Yup." Kiba nodded. Then he frowned and put a hand on his belly. "But my stomach's still sore from all that food."

"Your stomach's sore?" Hinata looked at Kiba oddly.

"_Yes_, it's sore." Kiba said as if nothing was weird about his statement.

"How can your stomach be sore?" Hinata continued to look strangely at Kiba.

"It just is…ugh, I feel like I have stretch marks." Kiba's stomach started grumbling.

Hinata giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

"What's so funny?" Kiba asked genuinely.

"You sound like you're pregnant or something." Hinata said with her mouth still covered.

"How do I sound pregnant?!" Kiba asked.

"You were talking about soreness and your feeling stretch marks." Hinata started giggling again. "It's pretty funny if you think about it from _my_ perspective."

"Hmph." Kiba crossed his arms with his eyes closed looking away from Hinata.

The elevator made a ringing sound and the doors slid open.

"Come on, Mr. Pregnant." Hinata playfully giggled.

Kiba wasn't paying attention to anything, so he did not realize that the door had slid open. When he opened his eyes after hearing Hinata's nickname for him, he quickly dashed out of the elevator and followed Hinata into the cafeteria.

"Are you calling me fat?" Kiba said with his hands on his hips.

"No, but I think you're having some mood swings." Hinata joked.

"I do not have mood swings!" Kiba kept his hands on his hips. "Hey, they have my favorite cereal!" He pointed to a big machine full of different brands of cereal.

"Mood swings." Hinata pointed out.

Kiba glared at Hinata for being correct.

"Hey look, your favorite cereal!" Hinata pointed excitedly at the machine of cereal.

"Yeah!" Kiba headed towards the machine.

'Sometimes I wonder how much of a dog he really is…' Hinata shook her head smiling.

_After picking out Kiba's favorite cereal and Hinata's 'I-don't-really-care-about-cereal-but-will-eat-the-one-I-see-first' cereal, grabbing bowls, spoons, and their favorite milk, and sitting at an empty table…_

"Ummm…what did you put in the 'food' you made anyways? You didn't buy anything, so…" Hinata asked.

"Uhhh…" Kiba chuckled nervously. "It's a long story…there was some hotel food laying around…there was some stuff in the drawers and…I don't think we should talk about it while we're eating."

"I think you're right. I don't want to hear about it anymore." Hinata said, looking back at her bowl of cereal to eat it.

_10 seconds of slurping cereal later…_

"Hey, Kiba! Hi, Hinata!" A familiar voiced greeted with a bowl of cereal.

"Hey, Kankuro!" Kiba said, greeting Kankuro with a 'handshake-one-arm-hug' a lot of guys do.

"Hello, Kankuro." Hinata said.

"What are _you_ doing up so early?" Kiba asked.

"I could barely sleep. Naruto is so annoying." Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"Of course he is." Kiba nodded.

"Do you want to sit down with us, Kankuro?" Hinata asked politely.

"Nah, I don't want to bother you two lovebirds." Kankuro shook his hand back and forth.

"Kiba's not a 'lovebird', so sit." Hinata insisted.

"Hey! What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Kiba put his hands on his hips.

"See what I mean?" Hinata said.

Kankuro grabbed a chair from the table next to Hinata and Kiba and sat down. Then he continued to eat his cereal.

"_So_…" Hinata said to Kankuro.

"So…" Kiba said as well.

Kankuro swallowed a bite of his cereal. "So what?" He looked up to see Hinata and Kiba staring at him.

"I must know…what happened yesterday?" Hinata asked straightforward.

"You know what happened yesterday." Kankuro said, continuing to eat his cereal.

"What happened yesterday _night_?" Hinata asked.

"Nothing." Kankuro answered, not looking up from his cereal.

"Kankuro!" Kiba whined to Kankuro.

"What?!" Kankuro said a little annoyed. 'If I knew they'd ask me all these questions, I would've never said 'hi' to them.' Kankuro regretted.

"Just tell us what happened and we won't say a word about it anymore." Hinata said.

"No." Kankuro said plainly.

"We won't tell anybody. Our mouths are completely shut." Hinata reassured.

"You won't tell anybody?" Kankuro asked.

"Nobody at all. Right, Kiba?" Hinata looked at Kiba.

Kiba nodded with a grin.

Kankuro stared at Kiba like he was trying to figure something out about him. "I don't trust you Kiba…not to keep your mouth shut that is…I'll tell _you_ Hinata, but not Kiba."

"Deal." Hinata nodded with a smile of triumph.

"Hey!" Kiba said, sounding offended.

Hinata shrugged. "Sorry, Kiba. That's just the way it is."

"Awww…" Kiba complained, pouting. "…fine." He grunted, eating his cereal with his pout.

Kankuro turned his chair in Hinata's direction and covered the side of his mouth with his hand. He whispered to Hinata, "Temari told me that she and Neji lied to Tenten and me. Tenten was told that I was arranged to be married to a girl in Suna and you know that I thought Tenten was just using me."

Hinata gasped. "I-I'm _so_ sorry. I thought Tenten was really trying to get back at Neji."

"It's okay. Our relationship wouldn't have worked out anyways. I just…it's something I didn't think through…" Kankuro looked down and sighed. "But I guess some 'quality-time' with Temari helped…I think."

"Well, that's good." Hinata smiled cheerfully at Kankuro. "Temari's getting pretty nice."

"Yeah, I know…it's kinda creepy." Kankuro joked.

"Maybe you should do something nice for her." Hinata suggested.

Kankuro shrugged. "I guess…"

"Are you two done yet?" Kiba sighed impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah." Kankuro said. He scooted his chair back to where it was before and started to eat his cereal again.

"So what'd he say, Hinata?!" Kiba asked.

"Kiba, I'm not supposed to tell you." Hinata said, shaking her head at how thick Kiba's skull could be sometimes.

"But Hinata!" Kiba whined.

"Just finish your cereal." Hinata said.

"Yes, Hinata…" Kiba frowned.

"I'm going to leave. My cereals all soggy now. I'm gonna get some breakfast for Temari. You guys want anything?" Kankuro asked.

Hinata shook her head.

"Nope." Kiba said, eating some more cereal.

"'Kay." Kankuro said. He turned around and left Kiba and Hinata alone.

Once he was out of sight, "So, what did he say?" Kiba asked.

"I told you; I'm not supposed to tell you." Hinata said.

"Hinata!" Kiba whined.

"You're such a baby sometimes. Don't make me call you 'crybaby' like Temari does to Shikamaru." Hinata threatened.

"Yes, Hinata…" Kiba mumbled.

* * *

_7:22 A.M.…_

"Good morning, Neji." Tenten greeted while drying off her hair.

"Good morning." Neji said monotonously.

'He's just staring at the wall, probably concentrating his chakra. Oh gosh, it's called a vacation for a reason, Neji.' Tenten sighed in her head. She couldn't really tell Neji that. "Did you eat breakfast yet?" Tenten asked politely.

"No." Neji said as if it were very obvious.

"Are you hungry?" Tenten asked.

"No." Neji said in the same tone as before, which was starting to annoy Tenten.

'I was just trying to be polite. Gosh, he sounds so rude, sometimes.' Tenten rolled her eyes.

"What?" Neji asked after noticing Tenten rolling her eyes.

"Neji, I'd hate to be rude, but you can be kind of rude sometimes. I know you don't mean to be, but that's how it's coming off." Tenten blurted out her feelings. 'Glad I got _that_ off my chest.'

"What do I do?" Neji asked.

"What?" Tenten asked back.

"You said I sound rude, so what do I do to not sound rude?" Neji said in that same obvious tone.

"There you go again. It's all in your tone. Not everyone knows everything you know, Neji. Everyone's not a genius like you, so you just…you have to think about how you say something before you say it. Okay?" Tenten tried to explain as politely as possible.

"Mm." Neji nodded. He stood up from the couch and headed towards the door.

"W-Where are you going?" Tenten asked.

Neji stopped It was silent for many moments but finally, he answered. "I'm hungry." Neji started to walk again. "Are you coming?" He asked, looking back at Tenten.

Tenten shook her head vigorously. "Y-Yeah." She nodded. 'Wow, he's actually trying to take my advice.' She smiled as she walked alongside Neji. She started laughing a little in her head. 'But he still has a _lot_ to learn.'

* * *

_7:24 A.M.…_

"WHAT THE HELL IS _HE_ DOING IN HERE?!" Kankuro shouted much too loudly, dropping a plate of muffins.

Temari sat up and put her hand on the side of her forehead. She had one-and-a-half eyes open. "Wha?" She said sleepily.

"Nani (what)?" Shikamaru sat up as well, wiping a bit of drool off of his mouth with his arm. 'Oh crap.' He thought, once realizing what had happened the night before, which really woke him up. "Kankuro, it's not what you think!" Shikamaru said, waving his hands friends frantically in front of himself.

"Oh sure! That's what they all say, punk!" Kankuro said, stomping his way towards Shikamaru with his right hand in a fist.

"Kagemane no jutsu (Shadow Possession jutsu)!" Shikamaru said with his eyes tightly closed as a shadow slid to Kankuro, stopping him in his tracks.

"Damn you, little punk!" Kankuro said.

Temari yawned. "Well, I'm going to back to sleep." She said, laying back down, tugging the blanket over her shoulders.

"What?! You're just going to leave me with your brother who's about to kill me?" Shikamaru said.

Temari sat back up, rolled her eyes, and yawned again. "Of course. You can handle it, can't you, genius?" Temari looked at Shikamaru daringly.

"Well, yeah, I can handle it, but it doesn't mean I want to!" Shikamaru said.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Boys these days; they're all so…hmmm…what's that word?" She tapped a finger to her lip. "Oh yeah…troublesome." Temari said.

"Hn." Shikamaru said after Temari purposely used his signature word.

Temari slowly got out of bed and stretched her arms out for a couple of seconds, yawning.

"Could you hurry it up, troublesome woman?" Shikamaru said rhetorically.

"Fine, fine." Temari walked slowly to Kankuro. "Hey, Kankuro." She waved lazily.

"Temari!" Shikamaru commanded.

"Yeah, yeah." Temari said lazily. Then she looked on the ground and saw some muffins and crumbs on the floor. "Awww, did you bring up those for me?" She asked.

"Yeah," Kankuro muttered. ", I try to do something nice for you for once and I find a little squirt sleeping with my older only sister! What the hell did _I_ ever do to deserve that?!"

"It's not _my_ fault." Temari said. "I thought Shikamaru was a genius, but he's a bigger baka (idiot) than you." Temari yawned again. She turned to Shikamaru, leaning her arm on Kankuro's shoulder. "Shikamaru, you're kind of dumb…I mean, what's the point of calling you genius, if you're an idiot?" She shrugged. "You couldn't even tell that I was trying to get you in bed with me. I'm disappointed, Shikamaru, truly disappointed." Temari said, trying to act as disappointed as possible.

"What? You planned the whole thing?! You were awake the _whole_ time, weren't you?!" Shikamaru finally figured out.

"No duh." Temari said plainly.

"What kind of genius are you?" Kankuro chuckled.

"Exactly what I said." Temari nodded. "See, this is all _your_ fault, Shikamaru."

"What?!" Shikamaru said, his shadow letting go of Kankuro.

"Heh, I guess if you're _that_ dumb, I won't have to worry about anything happening to my sister." Kankuro said.

Temari crossed her arms. "You _never_ have to worry about me. In fact, you _don't_ worry about me! It's only with the little crybaby over here." She pointed to Shikamaru with her thumb.

"Well, I thought he was a genius." Kankuro shrugged.

"Yeah, me too." Temari rolled her eyes at Shikamaru. Then her stomach made a loud grumbling sound. She put her hands on her stomach. "Kankuro, I'm hungry."

"No, really? I hadn't noticed." Kankuro rolled his eyes sarcastically. "I _was_ coming in here to give you some food, but then I find _this_ and well…"

Shikamaru's stomach grumbled. He yawned. 'Might as well eat something.' Shikamaru thought. He pulled away the blanket and slid off the bed.

"And where do you think _you're_ going?" Temari continued to have here arms crossed.

Shikamaru yawned again. "Eat." He said simply.

"Oh…" Temari said slightly surprised. "Since you're going down there…" She said, insinuating something.

"No. I'm not going to get you some food." Shikamaru said, answering Temari's would-be question.

"Why not? You're going down there anyways." Temari pointed out.

"Too troublesome." Shikamaru yawned for the umpteenth time.

"Hmph." Temari pouted, glaring at Shikamaru in such a stare, the narrator could not even begin to describe.

Unfortunately for Shikamaru, he just happened to glance at Temari and sadly saw straight at her eyes. He sighed heavily. "Fine." He said with his eyes closed.

"Yes!" Temari made a fist with her hand and gestured like she was elbowing someone behind her. "Still got it!"

Unfortunately for Kankuro, he was right behind her, so her elbow hit him right in the stomach. "Oww…" He groaned in a hoarse voice.

"Heh…" Temari scratched the back of her head. "Did _I_ do that?" She pointed to herself with her index finger.

"Yeah," Kankuro continued to groan. ", you did. Damn, that hurt." He rubbed his stomach.

"Oops…well, Shikamaru can get you some cereal or something. You want a cookie?" Temari said as a bribing apology.

Kankuro raised a lazy eyebrow at Temari. "I'm not Gaara, you know."

"Oh yeah…Shikamaru! Get Kankuro some cereal while you're at it!" Temari commanded rather loudly.

Shikamaru put a finger to his ear. He sighed. "Troublesome woman, I'm right here. You don't have to yell."

"Well, hurry up then!" Temari ordered.

"Can I at least take a shower?" Shikamaru asked.

"Why? Wouldn't it be 'too troublesome'?" Temari raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru sighed. "Fine…might as well get this over with…" He trudged out of the room, not lifting a foot off of the ground.

"Now, _I_ can take a shower!" Temari ran to the bathroom.

Kankuro yawned. "Maybe I can get some sleep." He walked casually back to his room.

Either Temari took a really quick shower, or Shikamaru was really taking his time trudging out door, or maybe it was a combination of both because after ten minutes…

"What the hell?!" Temari shouted, dropping her towel (for her hair! Gosh, I'm not _that_ perverted). "You're still here?!" She shouted rhetorically.

"Well, yeah…I _am_ right in front of you." Shikamaru said.

"It's been 10 whole freakin' minutes! How long does it take you to walk out the door?!" Temari continued to have her voice raised.

"Longer than 10 minutes I guess." Shikamaru responded.

"Well, hurry it up!" Temari decided to take some initiative and push Shikamaru's back with her foot.

Surprisingly, Shikamaru wasn't expecting _that_ to happen, so he fell down. "Oww…" He said, sitting up, rubbing his head. "…what was _that_ for troublesome woman?"

"If you went a little faster, I wouldn't have had to do that." Temari crossed her arms and picked up her towel she used to dry her hair. "Now hurry up!" She demanded.

Shikamaru sighed, pushing himself up from the floor. "Troublesome woman." He muttered.

"I heard that, punk!" Temari shouted with her back turned, walking back into the bedroom.

'Why is she calling me punk?' Shikamaru turned around and started to trudge again, but with the slightest increase in speed.

* * *

_After a much wanted nap…_

Kankuro yawned, sitting up, on his bed, stretching his arms out. 'Why can't _I_ get a girl? I mean if _Temari_ can get a boy, I can get a girl, right?' He sighed.

'Why do _I_ have to have all the social problems? Gaara gets his 'I'm-alone-so-feel-bad-for-me-because-my-father-tried-countless-times-to-kill-me-and-I-was-betrayed-by-everyone-I-thought-loved-me' problem. Temari gets her 'I'm-not-supposed-to-show-emotion-and-never-had-a-female-figure-in-my-life-since-I-was-three-so-I-have-an-excuse-for-being-more-of-a-boy-than-a-girl' issue.' Kankuro sighed again. 'Lucky them.'

'Gaara has a _billion_ fangirls who want to rape him to death…_Temari_ has a million stalkers waiting to perverse her to insanity…and what do _I_ get? Nothing…lucky them…'

'I don't get it…I'm pretty cool, right? I'm a popular Suna shinobi. I should have just as many fangirls as anyone else…well, maybe not Gaara; he _is_ the Kazekage. Well, there's also Sasuke, the 'emo' kid who the girls want because they can't have him. _And_ there's Neji, who doesn't talk a lot and has that cool branding on his forehead _and_ long hair. _And_ Naruto too with all his 'I'm going to be Hokage' and 'dattebayo' stuff. Then there's Kiba too with his dog and his tough 'bad-boy' look. Plus, there's Shikamaru who's smart, funny, friendly, and _another_ boy fangirls want but can't have.'

'Oh crap. All that's left is Chouji, the fat pig, Shino, the creepy bug guy who doesn't talk and always wears sunglasses, and Rock Lee, the fuzzy eyebrows and youth freak. Awww, man, I suck…' Kankuro sighed in disappointment.

* * *

**A/N: **Awww, don't you just want to hug Kankuro and tell him he's smexy? I do…maybe it's just me. So there you have it…yup…just another chapter…yeah…

**Song: **Another made-up, non song title, title. I'm starting to not put songs as titles…I like making them up now…Lessons Learned is for Neji and Tenten and maybe Shikamaru and Temari if you squint and can find a little itty bitty lesson in there. Lucky Them is just for Kankuro…awww, he's still smexy in _my_ eyes.


	20. Day 4 Unsure Changes and Responses

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The beginning of episode 218 of Naruto is da bomb for ShikaTema and non-ShikaIno pplz.**

**A/N: **Another late chapter. Ugh…oh well…nothing else to say here except I'm a real lazy-butt.

**Published January 29, 2007**

**Chapter 20 - Unsure Changes and Responses**

_7:29 A.M.…_

Sakura sat up and stretched her arms out with a yawn.

"Finally, you're awake, forehead-girl." Ino chuckled, leaning on the doorway that leads to the living room.

"Huh?" Sakura fully woke up. She looked at the clock. 'Seven thirty.'

"Did you know you snore as loud as a pig?" Ino insulted.

"At least I'm _not_ a pig, Ino." Sakura retorted.

"Humph." Ino crossed her arms.

"Humph." Sakura copied.

"I _was_ going to ask you if you if you wanted a muffin, but since you were so _rude_ to me, _I'll_ eat it." Ino took the muffin that was in her hand and took a bite like it was an apple. She sighed. "And it's your favorite too. What a pity." Ino said sarcastically.

Sakura glared at Ino. "You are _so_ annoying." She said slowly and dramatically.

Ino took another bite of the muffin. "At least _I'm_ not going to go hungry."

"Yeah, you're right, you pig." Sakura replied angrily.

"Whatever." Ino put out her hand in the 'talk-to-the-hand' pose. "Since you're awake, I don't have to watch you anymore. I'm going to see Chouji. See ya, billboard-brow." Ino waved with her back turned.

"Wait! I want to go too!" Sakura said loudly.

Ino turned around to face Sakura. "Well, that's not _my_ problem. See ya." She turned around and started to walk away again.

"Ugh!" Sakura groaned. She got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to wash up. 'That, Ino-pig!'

* * *

_8:22 A.M.…_

"Hey, you with the head." Temari called out.

"What?" Shikamaru said in a confused tone as he turned around, wondering if he heard correctly. 'Why can't she just call me crybaby again?'

"I'm just thinking of something new to call you. I guess 'you with the head' wouldn't work well and it's not very catchy either." Temari sighed. "Maybe I should convert to pineapple-head." She tapped a finger to her lip.

"Hn." Shikamaru said annoyed. "Might as well call me crybaby again." He muttered quietly.

'Heh, I love playing with his head.' Temari chuckled slyly.

"What's so funny?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Oh nothing." Temari looked up and hummed, trying to lie as obviously as possible.

"Hn. Troublesome girl." Shikamaru sighed.

"What did you just call me?!" Temari retorted loudly.

"Hn. Troublesome girl." Shikamaru said slower with no emotion.

"You just called me a _girl_?!" Temari roared.

"Yeah, genius." Shikamaru smirked in his head.

"Well that does it! You are now officially pineapple-head!" Temari crossed her arms.

Shikamaru sighed. 'She gets ticked off so easily.' He thought. "Why pineapple-head?" Shikamaru mumbled rhetorically. He shook his head.

"Isn't it obvious?" Temari said. "You _do_ have a head like a pineapple." Temari shrugged.

"At least I only have _one_ pineapple. _You_ have _four_." Shikamaru smirked.

"At least _I_ didn't _copy_ my hairstyle." Temari said with her arms crossed and eyes closed. "I know you stole it. I mean, you're a total copy-cat of your dad _and_ that guy Naruto hangs out with."

"What guy?" Shikamaru asked.

"You know…or you _should_ know, but since you've been very dull recently, I guess you probably wouldn't know. You _should_ know the guy with the scar across his nose." Temari said.

"Iruka?" Shikamaru guessed.

"I don't know. I just saw what's his face and Naruto eating ramen." Temari said. "At first I thought he was you, but then I remembered that _you_ would be _too_ lazy to eat ramen with Naruto." Temari responded.

"Hn." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Exactly. You are _so_ lazy; I can't believe you're not as big as what's his face." Temari said.

"Chouji?" Shikamaru guessed again.

"Yeah, what's his face. How _do_ you keep fit anyways? Wouldn't it be 'too troublesome' to exercise and eat healthy?" Temari said, saying Shikamaru's phrase in a lazy and low tone.

"Hn." Shikamaru answered.

"Tell me." Temari ordered.

"Hn." Shikamaru said.

"Answer me or I'll…I'll hit you with this pillow." Temari picked up a couch pillow and raised it up.

Shikamaru sighed. "Just because I'm lazy doesn't mean I don't train. If I didn't train, I'd be dead. Being alive is less troublesome than being dead; if I'm alive, at least I can watch the clouds." He answered truthfully.

"Hmm…" Temari wondered.

"What 'hmm'?" Shikamaru looked at Temari. 'What the heck is she thinking? It's probably something devious and troublesome.' He sighed in his head.

* * *

_7:35 A.M.…_

"Hinata? Am I fat?" Kiba said, slouched on the couch, with is hand on his stomach.

"Are you serious?" Hinata asked rhetorically, sitting next to Kiba. "You're skinnier than me…so I _hope_ you're not _fat_." She shook her head with a smile. 'Where does he come up with this stuff?'

"But look at me; I'm so…ugh." Kiba said, pinching his 'fat'.

"And what exactly does 'ugh' mean?" Hinata asked.

"Fat." Kiba said.

"Oh, goodness, Kiba. You are _not_ fat, okay? If anything, you _need_ some fat." Hinata said.

"Oh great! Now I'm a walking stick!" Kiba whined.

"Kiba…are you alright?" Hinata asked concerned. She put a hand on his forehead.

"I don't know anymore." Kiba said truthfully. He sighed.

"I think you just need to relax or something." Hinata suggested.

"How am I supposed to relax when I'm a walking stick?" Kiba complained.

"I think you're having mood swings…" Hinata looked strangely at Kiba.

"Oh Kami! I _am_ pregnant." Kiba put his hands on his head and shook his head vigorously.

"Kiba!" Hinata put her hands on Kiba's shoulders to keep him from moving. She looked at him straight in the eye. "You. Are. A. Boy. Got it?"

Kiba nodded.

"Good. Now that we've got _that_ covered, I think some fresh air will help you out. Let's go on the balcony. That sounds nice, right?" Hinata said.

"Okay." Kiba sighed. Then he stood up. 'It's hopeless…I'm a pregnant boy with mood swings.'

Hinata stood up and grabbed Kiba's hand and pulled him to the balcony. "Here…some nice fresh air. This is good, Kiba. How do you feel now?" She asked.

"Hormonal." Kiba answered with his head down.

"Kiba!" Hinata scolded slightly.

"Hinata! Nothing's going to work!" Kiba said hopelessly.

"Okay…maybe you just need a drink of water or something." Hinata said. She continued to hold Kiba's hand and pulled him back inside and picked up a bottle of water. "Here." Hinata handed Kiba the bottle of water.

Kiba looked at the bottle of water. "I don't think this is going to work, but okay." He drank three large gulps of water.

Hinata took the bottle of water away from Kiba. "So…how do you feel now?"

"Bloated. Maybe I'm PMS-ing." Kiba said.

"Kiba! You're a guy for goodness sakes!" Hinata sighed heavily.

"I think I need to sit down. You're not supposed to stand so much when you're pregnant." Kiba said.

"Kiba! For the last time, you are not pregnant!" Hinata said loudly. "We've never even had sex before! How the heck could a guy get pregnant when he has never had sex before?!" Hinata shouted. Quickly, she covered her mouth. 'Oh, crud.'

"What the hell is going on in here?!" Neji barged into the room, through the connecting door. He had his Byakugan on and was ready to beat somebody up.

"Nothing's going on. Let me explain Neji." Hinata waved her hands back and forth in front of her.

"Yeah, you got a _lot_ of explaining to do!" Neji said loudly.

"Neji." Tenten stood at the doorway with Neji. "I think you're overdoing it a bit. I mean, what Hinata shouted a couple seconds ago wasn't even bad. She said she never had sex, or at least not with Kiba, and said 'how could a guy get pregnant', so really, you're overreacting." Tenten tried to explain as understanding as possible.

"Hn." Neji glared at Kiba. "Just don't do anything you'll regret, Kiba." Neji warned.

"Y-Yes, Neji. Of course not." Kiba stuttered nervously.

"Hn." Neji closed the connecting door.

Hinata sighed heavily. "_That's_ a relief. I'm glad Neji didn't do anything to you."

"Yeah. He'd kill me _and_ the baby." Kiba said.

"What the hell did you say?!" Neji barged in again.

'Oh man. Here we go again." Hinata and Tenten both thought in their heads at the same time.

* * *

_8:32 A.M.…_

"Troublesome girl." Shikamaru sighed.

"Why are you calling me a girl anyways? It doesn't make sense. I mean I can call you pineapple-head, but you can't call me troublesome girl. It doesn't fit if you called me a troublesome woman before. Did I somehow demote myself from a woman to a girl?" Temari complained in one breath.

"Whatever I call you doesn't have to make sense." Shikamaru answered.

"Yes it does! It's weird if it doesn't make sense!" Temari retorted.

"It's not weird. I can call you whatever I want, troublesome girl." Shikamaru said.

"Ugh! Stop calling me troublesome girl! I hate that! I'm _not_ a girl! Kami damn it! I'm a freaking woman!" Temari said very frustrated.

"Why do you feel so strongly about it anyways? It's only a nickname." Shikamaru said calmly.

"Because!" Temari said angrily. Then she changed from an angry face to a more disappointed face.

"Because of what?" Shikamaru said, noticing Temari's face.

"Because…ugh, nothing. _You_ wouldn't care." Temari said. "You'd probably just sleep through my story."

"Possibly, but maybe I'll stay awake this time around." Shikamaru smirked.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Fine. You asked for it." She sighed long with her eyes closed. Then she started speaking in a calm tone, "The reason I feel strongly about that nickname which you should" Then she raised her voice in exaggeration with anger. "Never, _ever_ use again!" She dropped back to a calm tone. "Is because no one has ever called me a girl before." She said softly.

"Never?" Shikamaru asked.

"Never…" Temari looked down, but hid any sign of great sadness in her face.

Shikamaru yawned. "You're right; I _wouldn't_ care. I'm getting sleepy already."

"Hey! I try to be all nice to you and you don't care?!" Temari raised her voice.

"You said so yourself I would probably fall asleep." Shikamaru pointed out.

"So! It doesn't mean you _should_." Temari crossed her arms.

"Hn. I was just kidding troublesome _woman_. There; you happy?" Shikamaru said lazily.

"Very. Thank you." Temari said with her head raised up in triumph. 'I _thought_ I might be able to have a serious conversation with him, but I guess _that's_ not gonna happen.'

"But really…you've never been called a girl before?" Shikamaru asked again.

"Nope, and I'm not going to start now, when I'm, uhh, how old? Oh yeah, 22." She joked. "I'm not gonna start being a girl _now_." She smirked. "It's a little late for that." She looked down slightly.

"Not really…" Shikamaru said.

"Umm…yeah, really. I'm 22 for Kami's sake. I'm definitely not a girl." Temari shook her head.

"That's untrue. Every female has a girl inside of her. I don't know a lot about girls, but I _do_ know that they will always have a kid in them." Shikamaru confirmed.

"That's just the girls _you_ hang around with. Suna girls are much different than Konoha girls. It's a fact…we're just…different." Temari smirked again. "I must say, these girls you call your friends…they kind of suck…no offense."

"How do I not take that as offensive?" Shikamaru asked.

"I don't know, pineapple-head." Temari said.

"Anyways, I thought they were your friends." Shikamaru stated.

"_Please_…I don't have any _real_ friends. A ninja can't show their real emotions, remember? Or did you forget for the billionth time?" Temari declared. "I'm not even showing my true emotion right now. I'm a ninja twenty-four seven."

"If you never show your real emotion, it's harder to determine what your real emotion is." Shikamaru stated.

"Ooh…how philosophical." Temari chuckled. "You think I care about that? What good are emotions anyways? They just get in the way…" She shook her head slightly.

"Emotions make things better…it gives a deeper insight on everything…_I_ personally wouldn't mind more emotion from you…maybe the true emotion that you keep covered up every day." Shikamaru said.

"Hmmm…" Temari looked strangely at Shikamaru. 'Is he up to something? He sounds so…not troublesome. Hey, when _was_ the last time he said troublesome?' She smirked to herself. "Fine. You want emotion? I'll give you emotion." Temari pushed Shikamaru up the wall (which surprisingly didn't kill Shikamaru) and kissed him hard on the lips.

_5 seconds later…_

"You asked for it, genius." Temari smirked, using her old nickname for Shikamaru again.

"Troublesome woman…" Shikamaru glared at Temari.

"Thank you very much…now don't call me a girl or I'll show you some real emotion you'll definitely regret!" Temari warned.

"Fine, fine." Shikamaru said lazily.

"Good…so…" Temari said.

"So…" Shikamaru said as well.

Temari looked around for something to do. Then she saw the remote on the coffee table.

Shikamaru also looked around for something to do. He looked at Temari, who was looking back at him. Then Shikamaru looked down to the coffee table where the TV remote control was.

Temari looked down at the remote and then back at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru looked at the remote for a few seconds, and then back at Temari.

'One…' Shikamaru thought.

'Two…' Temari thought. Then she snatched the TV remote before Shikamaru could even move towards it. "Yeah! I win!"

"Who said we were competing?" Shikamaru asked.

"No one…but I still won!" Temari cheered.

Shikamaru sighed. 'Darn. She did beat me…oh well…at least she didn't kill me yet.'

* * *

_7:45 A.M.…_

Chouji walked over to the side door and opened it.

"Good morning, Chouji!" Ino greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning, Ino." Chouji said, with a piece of muffin in his mouth. He was holding the rest of his muffin in his hand.

Ino hadn't finished her muffin, so she _also_ had a muffin in her hand.

"Come in." Chouji said politely.

Ino walked into Chouji's room and headed to the couch to sit and finish her last bite of muffin.

Chouji closed the door and followed Ino to the couch. "So, what's up, Ino?" He asked, making friendly conversation.

"Nothing. I was bored and wanted to see you." Ino smiled.

"Thanks!" Chouji smiled back.

"And also…can I ask you something?" Ino asked in a serious tone.

"Of course, Ino. You can ask me anything." Chouji assured.

"Well…do you think we have a relationship? You know, as a couple?" Ino asked in total seriousness.

"Well, yeah, I do. I've liked you since our Academy days." Chouji genuinely smiled at Ino. He had the slightest tint of blush on his cheeks.

Ino tried to make a full-hearted smile and barely accomplished it. "But really…are we ever going to have a personal relationship."

"_I_ think we will. I think it might be _you_ that has doubts. _Do_ you have doubts about us?" Chouji asked.

"Well, of course I do. You don't?" Ino asked.

Chouji shook his head.

"Really? Not even the slightest bit?" Ino asked.

Chouji continued to shake his head.

"But, you and I. We're so different. How can you not have any doubts that we'll break up and have a strained friendship after that?" Ino asked looking down. She thought she might cry soon, so she didn't want Chouji to see her tear up.

"Because…I…because I love you." He said quietly.

Ino's eyes widened.

Chouji didn't notice anything.

Ino looked up at Chouji. "How do you know you love me? _I_ don't even know if I love you."

"You just know." Chouji said. "You just feel something different with that person that you feel with no one else."

"But…" Ino tried to think of a response to Chouji's descriptive explanation. "…I don't know if I love you." She said honestly.

"That's okay…" Chouji said.

"R-Really? You're okay with that?" Ino asked.

"Of course. Most couples have one person who is unsure about the relationship. It's very normal." Chouji explained. "It can take a while to figure out your true feelings for someone. Take Shikamaru and Temari for example. They showed their absolute worst around each other. But then, one day, Shikamaru told me that he loved Temari. I don't know how he knew straight out that he loved her, but he did. But as you know, Temari is very, ummm, aggressive, so she never saw Shikamaru as anything other than a friendly rival. Skip to now and look at them. Temari still never told Shikamaru she loved him, so she doesn't even know herself if she loves him."

"Wow…I didn't know that." Ino said. She looked at Chouji. "Hey, how do you know all of this?"

Chouji shrugged. "Man's intuition." He joked.

Ino laughed along with Chouji. "Well, whatever it is, thanks."

"No problem." Chouji smiled his genuine smile again.

"Well, I guess I should check on billboard-brow. She's probably too dumb to find the breakfast I got in the cafeteria." Ino stood up and started walking back to her room. 'I still don't know if I _love_ him.' Ino sighed in her head. "See ya later!" Ino waved at Chouji.

Chouji slightly waved back.

Ino started thinking again. 'I don't think I really love him…'

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading! Yeah…heh…I know it was 'emo' in the end…I just thought they needed some drama or something…you know, since many people don't like InoCho or don't see how they could be paired up.


	21. Day 4 Change of Heart

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Have you ever wondered who draws the Naruto anime?**

**A/N: **Am I really late? I guess so…that's kind of sad. I guess that's just how it is. I started on Saturday night at like 11 P.M. or something. There's little inspiration right now, so I've had to think from the top of my head for a while now. I'm coming up with the random-est stuff now.

**Anouncement**: The next time I update is February 15, 2007 because that's when Naruto fillers end and I need some time to get ready for real-life stuff like exercising, actually _doing_ my homework, and having Valentine's Day with my friends sigh. I also need to finish my KanTen fanart and start a FanFiction one-shot for deviantART contests.

**Published February 6, 2007**

**Chapter 21 - Change of Heart**

"Sakura?" Ino said, staring at the wall. Her elbows leaned on her thighs and her head rested on her hands.

"What is it, Ino-pig?" Sakura said with her head in a magazine.

"Do you like Naruto?" Ino asked curiously.

"Duh." Sakura said plainly, flipping a page.

"I mean, _like_ like Naruto? You know, not _love_, but close?" Ino specified.

"Of course. That's why he's my boyfriend." Sakura pointed out. "Just like Chouji's your boyfriend." She compared.

"What if I said I didn't like Chouji that way…?" Ino asked, staring out at the balcony, gazing at the tall buildings.

"What?" Sakura said, slapping her magazine down on her legs, with a surprised look on her face. Suddenly she started talking as fast as you could while looking at Ino like she was crazy, "You're lying to Chouji about your relationship?! How could you do that? I mean, sure you do some _pretty_ bad stuff, but this is _really_ low! He's Chouji! He's never done anything to you! Why wouldn't you want a guy like Chouji? You're deceiving an innocent guy who's one of your closest friends who's done nothing but love you and _this_ is what you do?! What were--what _are_ you thinking?!"

Ino could barely indicate anything Sakura was saying, but she got the point. "I guess…I don't know! I don't want to say 'I don't like you, Chouji' and then the next day I realize I'm lost without him and say 'Chouji, I like you again'! It's just not how it goes! I need to know if I like him as much as he likes me. If I break-up with him now, I might regret it later!" Ino retorted loudly.

"Well maybe you should've thought of that before getting into a relationship with him in the first place!" Sakura crossed her arms.

"Well everyone else was suddenly pairing up! It was bound to happen anyways!" Ino argued back.

"You should know better than to give in to peer-pressure." Sakura said snobbishly.

"Whatever, Sakura." Ino crossed her arms and looked away. "I don't know _why_ I thought you could help me."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "If you really want an answer, you should tell Chouji."

"I already did." Ino said as if it were obvious.

"Well then why are you talking to _me_?!" Sakura argued loudly.

"Because he said to think about it, so I'm thinking about it!" Ino argued back just as loud.

"Well, did you _think_ about it?!" Sakura said louder than before.

"That's why I was asking _you_ the question! I needed some advice, but it looks like I asked the _wrong_ person!" Ino shouted.

"And _who's_ fault is that?!" Sakura shouted back.

"Yours! _Maybe_ if you were _smarter_, you would be able to answer my _question_ and we wouldn't be _screaming_ at each other!" Ino continued to shout.

"Well, _sorry_ for not being a genius!" Sakura shouted.

"You _should_ be!" Ino yelled.

"I am!" Sakura yelled back.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

The two girls looked away from each other and pouted with their arms crossed.

"I'm taking a shower." Ino said, standing up.

"Just don't use up all the hot water, Ino-pig." Sakura said.

"Hmph." Ino said.

* * *

"Shikamaru. Pssst…" Temari whispered.

"What?" Shikamaru looked confusedly at Temari. 'Why is she whispering?'

"Do you hear that?" Temari whispered again.

"Hear what?" Shikamaru asked in a normal volume. 'I don't hear anything.'

"Exactly." Temari said normally.

"What?" Shikamaru asked dumbfounded. 'What is she talking about?'

Temari sighed. "Nothing."

"What? Tell me." Shikamaru said.

"You wouldn't care…you're so 'troublesome'. Temari said in a low voice, acting like Shikamaru.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Whatever, genius." He said in a snobby voice.

"Hmm…" Temari said, thinking of an idea.

"What now?" Shikamaru sighed.

"You know what would be fun?" Temari asked rhetorically.

"Watching the clouds?" Shikamaru guessed.

"No." Temari stated flatly. "What if we switched personalities for the day?"

"Then we'd switch personalities for the day. So?" Shikamaru yawned.

"_So_…let's switch personalities for the day." Temari said.

"No." Shikamaru responded monotonously.

"Yes." Temari said.

"No." Shikamaru said again in the same tone.

"Yes." Temari said in an almost sing-song voice.

"No." Shikamaru sighed. 'How long is she going to do this?'

"Yes." Temari said with slight anger in her voice.

Shikamaru sighed again. "Fine." He muttered.

"Yes!" Temari smirked at Shikamaru.

'Oh man. This is definitely going to be troublesome.' Shikamaru sighed again.

* * *

_In Kankuro's room…_

'Maybe I _am_ lucky.' Kankuro contemplated. 'I wouldn't mind a couple of fangirls, but I guess it's better than being stalked all day.' He debated in his head. 'I still wish I could get a girlfriend…but I guess I don't _need_ one…maybe I should have an arranged marriage. Gaara can arrange that kind of stuff.'

'An arranged marriage…' Kankuro thought about it. 'It wouldn't be a _bad_ thing. At least I know I won't die lonely. Then again, I'll lose a chance at finding true love and all that stuff.'

'I've already kind of lost my love, so that's down the drain. I guess an arranged marriage would be best…hmmm…would _I_ be able to choose my wife? Does Gaara choose my wife?' Kankuro started to think. 'Oh, man, I hope Temari doesn't choose my wife. That would suck…a lot…'

Kankuro yawned. "Maybe I _should_ take that nap…" He lowered him head to his pillow and closed his eyes. 'I'll think about my future _after_ I get some sleep.'

_A minute or less later…_

'I can't sleep.' Kankuro sighed. He thought for about five minutes to decide what to do. In the end, Kankuro started counting sheep.

'One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep…' Slowly, but surely, Kankuro started snoring.

* * *

"Neji?" Tenten said.

"Hmm?" Neji said, not turning to Tenten.

"Are you doing anything today?" Tenten asked.

"No." Neji answered emotionlessly. "Did you have something planned?"

"No." Tenten answered nervously.

"But you _do_ want to do something." Neji inferred.

"Well, yeah…" Tenten responded.

"What do you want to do?" Neji asked politely.

"I don't know; whatever you want." Tenten answered.

"Well, I don't feel like doing anything, so choose something." Neji said.

"Well, if you don't want to do anything, then I'll stay her with you." Tenten said.

"Why would you do that?" Neji asked.

"Because…" Tenten paused to think of a good answer. "…you're my…my b-"

"Okay. Let's go." Neji said.

"What? Go where?" Tenten asked.

"Out." Neji stated plainly.

"Well, I know _that_. Out where?" Tenten asked.

"Outside." Neji said simply.

Tenten sighed. "Neji!"

"Wherever you want." Neji answered for real.

"R-Really?" Tenten stuttered. '_Wherever_ I want?'

"Yes." Neji said.

"But I already said I didn't know what I wanted to do." Tenten said.

"There must be _something_ you want to do or somewhere you want to go." Neji said. "Anywhere."

"Hmmm…" Tenten put her index finger on her lip. "Let's go to the balcony."

"Really?" Neji asked.

"Yes really." Tenten took Neji's hand and led him to the balcony.

* * *

_After some sulking time, **and** a nap, to himself…_

Kankuro yawned, stretching his arms out. 'That was a good nap. I guess I just needed to rest. '

_5 minutes later…_

'I'm bored. I wonder what Temari's doing.' Kankuro slid out of his bed and walked to the connecting door leading to Temari and Shikamaru.

_Behind the door…_

"Hey, Shikamaru. Hey, Temari." Kankuro greeted lazily.

"Hn." Temari said, not looking up at Kankuro.

"What do _you_ want?" Shikamaru said rudely.

"Uh…I wanted to know what you guys were doing." Kankuro said, slightly confused.

Temari yawned. "Nothing." She answered.

"We _were_ talking, but since you butt-in, _again_…" Shikamaru shrugged.

"Huh?" Kankuro said, even more confused than before.

"As troublesome as it is, he's right." Temari said, trying very hard to keep her composure, which she did rather well.

"What?" Kankuro said, after hearing Temari use the word 'troublesome'.

"Yeah. You better get out of here before I get mad." Shikamaru warned.

"I suggest you leave before he gets mad." Temari sighed. "He can be so troublesome sometimes." Temari advised, using all of her energy and strength not to laugh.

"What did you just say?!" Shikamaru said loudly.

"Nothing, nothing." Temari said nervously. "How troublesome." She muttered with her arms crossed.

Kankuro stared at Temari and Shikamaru very confused. 'What has the world come to?' He thought. 'This must be a dream or something. Yeah, that's it. It's all a dream.' Kankuro couldn't take it any longer.

"Ahhh!" Kankuro screamed running back to his room. He slammed to door shut and ran to his bed. Then he covered himself with the bed sheets and quivered in fear.

_Once Kankuro ran out of the room…_

Temari couldn't hold it in any longer. She took a couch-pillow and laughed as hard as possible in it.

Even Shikamaru couldn't help but laugh at Kankuro's reaction.

"And just think; we'll be doing this for the whole day." Temari said while laughing.

"As trou--as tough as this is going to be not to laugh, I guess it's better than sitting on the couch with you all day." Shikamaru admitted.

"What?! What's _that_ supposed to mean?!" Temari shouted.

"I-I was trying to be you?" Shikamaru said nervously.

"Hmph. I don't sound like that." Temari crossed her arms.

"Well, _I_ don't say troublesome after every other sentence." Shikamaru said.

"Oh, yes you do." Temari disagreed.

"No I don't." Shikamaru said.

"Well, _your_ interpretation of me isn't all that great either." Temari said.

"At least I'm trying harder to _you_. All you say is 'troublesome' after every sentence." Shikamaru said.

"Oh yeah?" Temari said competitively.

"Yeah!" Shikamaru said.

"You're right." Temari yawned.

"What?" Shikamaru said surprised.

Temari continued in her yawn. "Yeah, you're right. You're trying so much harder than me, it's almost scary."

"Ha, ha." Shikamaru caught on to Temari's act. He sighed. "I guess you are pretty good too."

"Yeah, I _am_ pretty good, aren't I?" Temari said proudly.

"That wasn't very 'Shikamaru in-character', you know." Shikamaru pointed out.

Temari yawned again.

"I don't yawn that much." Shikamaru muttered.

"If I yawned as much as you do, I'd lose so much water (from tears); it would look like I've been crying all day." Temari said.

"Hn." Shikamaru said.

"Hey, _I_ say 'hn' now!" Temari said.

"Whatever." Shikamaru said instead.

"I don't say whatever!" Temari said.

"Then what _do_ you say?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ummm…I don't know." Temari said.

Shikamaru smirked.

"Ugh. Whatever." Temari said.

* * *

_At the balcony…_

"What now?" Neji asked.

"I just wanted to look at the scenery. Since we're so high up, this is a good chance to look over Tokyo." Tenten answered. Her hands were on her chin and her elbows were leaning on the balcony bars.

Neji stood straight, not doing anything. He looked at Tenten most of the time. The rest of the time, he looked to the ground.

"Why don't you enjoy this vacation more? You know, take in whatever you can _while_ you can. We're not going to be here forever. We may never be able to have a vacation for a real long time." Tenten said, not facing Neji.

Neji was silent.

Tenten stood up and turned to Neji. She crossed her arms. "I know you heard me. I know you know I'm right. You might as well relax." She smiled at Neji.

"I can't relax…it's not…me." Neji said.

Tenten sighed. "True." She admitted.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Neji raised an eyebrow.

"You said it, not me." Tenten said.

"That doesn't mean you have to agree." Neji muttered.

"I'm just being honest." Tenten shrugged.

"If everybody in the world was honest, the world would be chaos." Neji said.

"True. But if the world was only lies, the world would be just as chaotic." Tenten said. "It's a good thing we have both honest people and liars."

"Hn." Neji said, meaning that he agreed.

Tenten smiled in triumph.

"That doesn't mean I will relax." Neji said.

Tenten sighed. "At least you're getting there." She smiled genuinely at Neji.

Neji looked at Tenten. He tried his hardest to crack a smile; instead, he made a sexy smirk.

Tenten giggled.

"What?" Neji asked.

"You…did you mean to do that?" Tenten asked.

"What? Smile?" Neji asked.

"_Oh_, you were _smiling_." Tenten understood.

"What did you think I was doing?" Neji asked.

"I didn't know what you were doing, but you ended up with a pretty sexy smirk." Tenten complimented.

"Uh, thank you?" Neji said hesitantly.

Tenten giggled. "Yeah. It was a compliment." She went back to leaning on the balcony and looking at the scenery.

This time, Neji copied, sort of, and looked at the landscape. He didn't know what he was looking for or at, but since Tenten seemed to enjoy gazing Tokyo, he enjoyed looking at the morning backdrop as well.

* * *

**A/N: **Yup…kind of fluffy at the end…there you go…remember, I'll update on the 15th! Hopefully I'll have time to finish my homework and work-out and finish my KanTen picture for deviantART.

**Title:** The title is for everyone. It's true…everyone's having a change of heart in one way or another.


	22. Day 4 Their Problems, Not Ours

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. But at least Kishimoto has come out with Naruto: Shippuden!**

**A/N: **Here you go! Yup! I was one minute late :( .

**Published February 16, 2007**

**Chapter 22 - Their Problems, Not Ours**

"Let's go outside." Temari said in a demanding voice.

"That's not very Shikamaru-like." Shikamaru pointed out.

"So. It's not like anybody else is listening. We _can_ act like ourselves in the privacy of…_ourselves_."

"Hn." Shikamaru said. 'It _would_ be less troublesome.'

"I'm glad that you agree with me." Temari said half sarcastically. "So we're going outside." She said commandingly.

Shikamaru sighed. "Fine…" He stood up. "…troublesome woman."

* * *

_After a quick knock on the door…_

Sakura walked up to the door. "Who is it?" She said, looking through the peeking-hole thing in the door.

"Naruto dattebayo!" Naruto grinned into the peeking-hole thing.

"Okay." Sakura opened the door for Naruto.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning, Naruto." Sakura said politely.

"Well, good morning to you too, Naruto." Ino said.

"Oh, hi, Ino." Naruto said, not paying much attention to Ino.

Ino rolled her eyes. 'Boys…they can be so 'ugh'.' She thought in disgust.

"So, where are we going today, Sakura-chan!"

"Well, I'm pretty hungry because," Sakura said. ", _someone_ ate my muffin!" She said loudly, emphasizing it to Ino.

Ino rolled her eyes again.

"Okay…" Naruto said, not getting what was going on.

"So can we get some lunch." Sakura said with a hand on her stomach.

"Sure, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned. "Let's go! Dattebayo!"

"Well, thanks for asking _me_!" Ino shouted sarcastically.

"You're welcome!" Sakura snickered.

"Ugh." Ino glared at Sakura from the couch until Sakura and Naruto left.

Sakura couldn't help but snicker even more. 'This is too easy.'

* * *

Shikamaru sighed. "Where are we going?"

"I already told you! We're looking for anybody we know." Temari said with her hands on her hips.

"I see somebody." Shikamaru said lazily.

"Who?" Temari turned in all directions and looked around.

"You." Shikamaru yawned.

"Shikamaru!" Temari scolded.

"I see somebody." Shikamaru said.

"Oh, not that again. Who is it? _You_?" Temari asked rhetorically and sarcastically.

"No. Naruto and Sakura." Shikamaru said lazily.

"Well, so it is." Temari put her hands on her hips. She saw Naruto and Sakura very far off in the distance walking in their direction. "Okay, remember, I'm you and you're me."

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets.

"Starting now." Temari said, glaring at Shikamaru for a second before yawning.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "You're stupid, you know that?" Shikamaru said, feeling slightly happy to be able to say that without dying.

Temari yawned again. "At least I'm not a troublesome woman, woman." Temari stopped. She whispered, "Wait, do I say troublesome woman or man?"

"Umm…man?" Shikamaru assumed. He shrugged.

"You're right. You're not worthy of being a woman." Temari smirked.

"I don't smirk." Shikamaru said plainly.

"Yes you do." Temari said.

"I do?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"_Yes_, you do." Temari said again.

"Oh…" Shikamaru looked kind of confused, thinking about times when he may have smirked but didn't know it.

"Wait, they're coming." Temari notified. She yawned. "Stop being so troublesome."

"Maybe you're the one who's being troublesome, genius." Shikamaru said back.

"Hey, Shika--" Naruto said, but was interrupted by Temari.

Temari yawned again. "Why do you have to be so loud?"

'Huh?' Naruto thought.

'What?' Sakura looked confusedly at Shikamaru and Temari.

Shikamaru crossed his arms. "Maybe _you're_ just too quiet, crybaby!"

"I'm not a crybaby." Temari muttered.

"Fine, pineapple head!" Shikamaru smirked.

Temari sighed. "You're so troublesome."

"Whatever." Shikamaru said.

"Uhh…Shikamaru, Temari?" Sakura asked.

"What?" Shikamaru tried to sound rude.

"Did something happen or something?" Sakura asked vaguely.

"What happened to you two?! How come Shikamaru sounds like Temari and Temari sounds like Shikamaru?" Naruto asked straight out.

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru looked at Naruto strangely.

"It's too troublesome to understand you Naruto." Temari said. "I'm going to take a nap. See you guys later."

"Hey! Did I say you could go?! I don't think so!" Shikamaru pulled Temari's arm back.

Temari sighed. "How troublesome." She slouched.

"Ummm…I think we'll be going now." Sakura said.

"But wait! I want to ask what's going on." Naruto said.

"Naruto!" Sakura commanded.

"Sakura!" Naruto whined. "I don't want to go."

"I'm hungry, Naruto!" Sakura said.

"But Sakura!" Naruto whined again.

"Naruto! Now!" Sakura ordered loudly.

Naruto sighed. "Bye you two. Have fun with whatever you're doing, dattebayo." He said gloomily.

_Once Sakura and Naruto were out of sight…_

"They have issues." Temari said in-character.

"He's whipped…" Shikamaru added.

"More whipped than you?" Temari asked.

"I'm not sure…maybe…" Shikamaru shrugged. 'I shouldn't give her the idea to whip me even more.' "Maybe we should find some other people we know."

"Yeah. Exactly what I was thinking…weird." Temari shook her head quickly.

'Awww, man. Now I'm starting to _think_ like her.' Shikamaru thought.

* * *

"Would you want to ride the elevator and press all the buttons, stay in there, and come out when all the button lights go out?" Tenten asked dreamily, leaning her elbows on the balcony railing.

"Hmm?" Neji wondered. 'Where did she get an idea like that?'

"I mean, it's just a thought. I've always wanted to have some fun like that…but well…I've never had the chance before." Tenten sighed.

"Let's go." Neji said, turning to walk back inside the room.

"Huh?" Tenten straightened her back and turned around to Neji.

"Let's go." Neji said again.

"Go where?" Tenten asked.

"In an elevator to press all the buttons and come out when the last button's light turns off." Neji said in an obvious tone.

"Really? You want to do that?" Tenten asked, as they stepped inside their room.

"It's nothing I would've ever thought of, but if you want to do it, then I will too." Neji explained.

"Oh." Tenten said, with a bit of surprise. "Thank you." She smiled.

Tenten and Neji walked out of their room and towards the elevator.

* * *

"Hmmm..." Temari said. "I don't see anyone else. Where could they be?"

"Maybe they were smart and stayed in their rooms." Shikamaru sighed.

"I doubt it. That's way out-of-character."

"Maybe they're _trying_ to be out-of-character like us." Shikamaru said simply.

"Stop trying to be a smart-ass about this." Temari crossed her arms with a quick threatening glare at Shikamaru.

'It's just a possibility.' Shikamaru thought, but figured it would be better not to say that to Temari. Instead, he said, "Hn."

"I guess we should go upstairs. Maybe we could--I've got it! What if we pretend we're room service, knock on their doors, and when they come out and say they didn't order anything, we'll be in our room just about to coincidently come out to see them. (**A/N:** I seriously came up with that in 5 seconds.) It's a perfect idea!" Temari said.

'How does she come up with this stuff so quickly?!' Shikamaru looked strangley, and slightly frightened, at Temari. "Hn." He replied again.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Let's just go already!" Temari pulled Shikamaru to the elevator and pressed the 'up' button.

* * *

"Today's going by pretty slowly, huh?" Tenten said, cutting the silence between her and Neji.

"Mm." Neji agreed.

There was a ding as the elevator door opened, but nobody entered. Then the doors closed and Neji and Tenten were back to having their conversation.

"How are you?" Tenten asked, not looking at Neji. She was looking straight forward at the wall.

"Hmm?" Neji asked.

"How are you?" Tenten said, in the same tone as before.

"How am I what?" Neji asked back.

"Huh?" Tenten said confusedly.

"Hmm?" Neji said just as confused.

The door slid open and closed again, still leaving Neji and Tenten alone.

"I just asked how you were." Tenten said.

"How am I what?" Neji asked again.

"Are you okay?" Tenten asked with frustration.

"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?" Neji asked.

Tenten sighed. "Nothing. Forget it."

"What is it?" Neji asked.

"It's no--" Tenten was about to continue but the elevators door slid open once again, with two shadows as well.

'Perfect.' Temari thought. She stepped into the elevator with Shikamaru following. The doors closed behind the two of them.

"Hey you guys…" Tenten said politely, waving a hand.

'Awww, man. Here we go again.' Shikamaru was about to sigh, but instead, he spoke. "Hey you two lovebirds? What are you doing in _here_, huh?" He smirked. 'Hmm, I guess I _do_ smirk. Wow, and I just thought I was giving a lazy smile.' Shikamaru thought. "I hope we weren't butting into anything." He said sarcastically.

Temari sighed. "Shikamaru, can't you leave them alone?" She yawned.

'Stop with the yawning! I don't yawn that much.' Shikamaru couldn't help but think. "Whatever." He decided to reply.

"Ummm…it's no problem?" Tenten said, staring at Shikamaru and Temari strangely. 'What's going on with them?'

"Hn." Neji said.

"Happy to see you too, Neji." Shikamaru said sarcastically.

(**A/N:** This next part is slightly confusing. These conversations are happening at the same time, but Shikamaru's communicating with Temari and Tenten's communicating with Neji. It's going every other person. To make it less confusing, it's better to read ever other line and then going back to read the lines you skipped. I even made a visual by putting stars on the first conversation and the plus signs on the second conversation.)

Temari yawned again. "We aren't doing anything today, are we?" Temari asked.

"It's nothing, Neji." Tenten finished her sentence from before quietly.

"Why do you ask?" Shikamaru asked suspiciously.

"Why can't you just tell me what you were talking about?" Neji asked lowly.

Temari yawned once again. "I'm sleepy…" She said simply.

"Because I asked a simple question that required a simple answer." Tenten sighed. "It wasn't important. I just didn't want us to be silent the whole time. It creates some tension, you know?"

"Well, too bad! We're doing what _I_ want to do! Got it?" Shikamaru said, putting his hands on his hips. (**A/N:** OMG, if I ever saw that, I would go crazy in fangirl-mode.)

"I…I didn't notice." Neji said.

"Troublesome man…" Temari muttered.

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore. It's no big deal, okay. So let's just forget about it, okay?" Tenten said.

"What was that?!" Shikamaru said loudly.

Neji nodded.

"Nothing." Temari pouted slightly.

"Hasn't anybody ever asked you how you were?" Tenten asked.

"Good." Shikamaru said.

"Not that I know of." Neji said.

Shikamaru whispered to Temari. "Let's listen to them…"

"Oh…" Tenten looked down. "I'm sorry."

"Of course we're going to listen to them!" Temari whispered back.

"Don't be. I don't want to talk it about it anymore." Neji said with a hint of anger.

"Whatever they're talking about…" Shikamaru started.

"Neji, we should talk about it." Tenten said.

"They're definitely having problems." Temari finished Shikamaru's whisper.

"No." Neji said lowly.

Wow, they're stuff is pretty deep." Shikamaru said.

"Neji." Tenten said.

"Uh oh." Temari said. "I know what's going to happen next."

"No!" Neji said loudly.

"Well this is our floor! See you two later!" Shikamaru grabbed Temari's hand tightly and pulled her out of the elevator.

* * *

"What was up with them?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari sighed with her arms crossed. " Tsk. Tsk. Tenten just doesn't listen. Neji told her that he didn't want to talk about it, but Tenten wouldn't listen to him. It's just like with Gaara; when Gaara says to do something, you obey his commands, no matter what. If you don't, you're in for trouble."

"Hmmm…" Temari wondered.

"Hm?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Have you noticed that everyone coincidently paired up on this vacation, except for Kankuro and Rock Lee? And did you notice that everyone's got stupid love problems? It's very overrated don't you think?" Temari asked many questions at once.

"Uhh…hn?" Shikamaru answered the only way he could.

Temari sighed and shook her head. "I wonder so many, _too_ many, times if you're really a genius…" She stared at Shikamaru with a look of fake disappointment in her face.

"Your point _was_?" Shikamaru asked to stop Temari from shaking her head at him.

"My point _is_, is that more people should be friends instead of girlfriend and boyfriend." Temari explained.

"Just friends?" Shikamaru asked, though he regretted it a moment later.

"Well, nobody could work out a beneficial relationship like us. I mean, really. Who has a relationship like ours?" Temari said.

"Troublesome lovers…" Shikamaru muttered.

"What did you say?" Temari said menacingly.

"N-Nothing." Shikamaru said.

"What…did…you…say?" Temari grunted.

"Uhhh…" Shikamaru said. 'Think, Shikamaru, think.' He thought. "I like cherries." He spat out quickly. 'What the heck was that?' He asked himself.

'Did he just say he likes cherries?' Temari stared strangely at Shikamaru. "Did you say what I think you said?"

"Uhhh…it depends…what did you think I said?" Shikamaru asked back.

"Did you just say you like cherries?" Temari put her hands on her hips.

"Ummm…yes?" Shikamaru answered hesitantly.

"Ummm…I didn't know you like cherries that much…" Temari said.

"I don't…" Shikamaru said.

"Then why did yo--ugh." Temari sighed. "Forget it. I don't think I want to know why you said that."

Shikamaru sighed. 'Phew. Got out of that one.'

"Don't think you've gotten _out_ of this yet!" Temari said. "I know you didn't say 'I like cherries'! You said 'troublesome lovers' and don't you deny it you annoying little runt."

Shikamaru sighed in his head. 'Why does she have to call me a little runt? Just because I'm three years younger than her doesn't mean I'm little. I _am_ taller than her.' He thought in his head.

"Hey! Hey, are you listening to me?!" Temari shouted.

"Huh?!" Shikamaru shook his head quickly. "Y-Yeah."

* * *

**A/N: **What's with the "I like cherries." thing? Well, I have an urge to say it every now and then even though I really don't like them _that_ much. I barely like cherries. I just get cravings to say it. Weird yes…good for Shikamaru…uhh…that's a different (and more awkward) story. Sorry I didn't get to fit in InoCho! Next chapter!

**Title: **I actually tried looking for a song! But didn't find one…sad…but I made a title!So the title means basically that every couple is having their problems, except, surprisingly Shikamaru and Temari.


	23. Day 4 Say Goodbye

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. And neither do you. You don't, right?**

**A/N: **I'm back!!! From what? From going off-schedule. I actually made my weekly Sunday deadline…though it's like 11:52 P.M., I'm still happy! lol. Happy reading to you!

**Published February 25, 2007**

**Chapter 23 - Say Goodbye**

_In room 1000…_

"Tell me, Neji." Tenten asked. 'Why can't he tell me?'

"No." Neji replied.

'He should be able to tell me anything. Doesn't he trust me?' Tenten thought. "Neji. Tell me." She said, with a hint of whine.

"No." Neji replied again.

"Neji…I won't stop bugging you until you tell me what's going on! So you might as well tell me now!" Tenten said with a mixture of hurt and anger in her voice.

Neji sighed. "If you really must know…" He decided. "As you know, I didn't have a very _happy_ past. And you also know that my family is very strained. The truth…is that…no one has ever asked me what you asked me." Neji looked down at his legs.

"How are you?" Tenten said.

"Correct. I did not know why you would be asking me a question like that." Neji said. "Actually, no one has asked me anything even remotely like that. I was only asked to eat, train, and sleep. Everything else was unnecessary."

Tenten wanted to say something. She wanted to do something to help Neji. "Maybe there's--"

"No." Neji stopped Tenten from continuing. "There's nothing you can do to change what's already been done." Neji said dramatically. "You can't change the past; what's done is done, so don't try to change it, because you can't."

Tenten looked down at her hands which were on her thighs. "Maybe we should talk about something else." She said, still looking down.

"You can't ignore what you know. You can only live with it." Neji stated, looking up at the ceiling.

* * *

_With Shikamaru and Temari, on the couch, in room 1001…_

"Are you getting itchy? I'm feeling kind of itchy." Temari said scratching her right arm hard.

"No…not really." Shikamaru stared strangely at Temari. "It's not good to scratch, you know."

"Of course I know! I can't help it! It's so damn itchy!" Temari said, continuing to scratch her, now red, arm.

"You're just suddenly itchy?" Shikamaru said, showing only slight concern.

"Yeah. I don't know what the heck is going on, but I don't like it!" Temari started scratching her other arm.

Shikamaru sighed and pushed himself off of the couch. "As troublesome as it is, I don't want you scratching your skin off. I'll get some lotion or something."

"You will?" Temari asked, looking weirdly at Shikamaru.

"Mm." Shikamaru nodded. "It would be much more troublesome to take you to the hospital after you rip your skin off. Then you'll whine and want to get out of the hospital."

"Okay." Temari said.

"And then I'll have to stay there the night with you and sleep on a dirty old chair or mattress or something." Shikamaru continued.

"Okay." Temari said in a sing-song voice.

"And when you get out, I'll probably have to pay for the bills, and that will be _extremely_ troublesome." Shikamaru went on.

"Alright! I get it! I'm going to be a troublesome-ass! Now go already before I scratch _your_ skin off!" Temari shouted.

"Okay, okay." Shikamaru trudged out of the door.

'He better hurry up. This damn itching sucks!' Temari thought, scratching herself even harder.

* * *

_At a restaurant in the hotel…_

"I'll have a miso ramen!" Naruto ordered to the waitress.

"Make that two." Sakura said politely to the waitress.

"I'll get your orders right up!" The waitress said; then she left.

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded, once the girl was gone.

"What?!" Naruto whined. 'What did I do _this_ time?'

"You ordered miso ramen!" Sakura said.

"So did you!" Naruto said back.

"You always order ramen! You know you can't live on ramen your whole life!" Sakura put her hands on her hips.

"I've lived _this_ long." Naruto said.

"That just shows how lucky you are! You should cut down on the ramen and eat something healthier, or at least different from ramen!" Sakura said, acting like Naruto's mother, if he had one.

"Sakura!" Naruto stood up for himself.

"N-Naruto!" Sakura said back.

"Sakura, stop controlling me!" Naruto said loudly.

"I'm just thinking about what's best for you!" Sakura defended.

"I've been taking care of myself since I could remember! I think I can take care of myself now!" Naruto crossed his arms. Then he muttered, "Why do you think I'm still a kid?" He spoke at his normal volume, "Sure, I'm immature at times, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. I know what I should and shouldn't do." Naruto looked at Sakura, hurt at how childish she thinks he his.

"Maybe I'm just trying to do what's best for you." Sakura glared.

"Well, I don't like it." Naruto said angrily.

"You don't like that someone actually _cares_ about you and only wants you to be happy?" Sakura crossed her arms.

"Not if you're going to act the way you're acting right now." Naruto said.

"Fine then. If you don't want me here, I'm gone!" Sakura stood up and shoved her chair in hard and stomped out of the restaurant.

"Sa--" Naruto grabbed his hand out to the air. "--kura…" Naruto said, but it was far too late. He sighed. 'This isn't how I wanted this to go.'

"Two miso ramen." The waitress from before greeted cheerfully.

Naruto sighed. "Thanks." He said gloomily.

* * *

_In room 1000… (**A/N:** meant to be read very dramatically)_

"I told you to stop." Neji said. "Don't try to help something you know you _can't_ help."

Tenten clenched her fists tightly and stiffly stood up. She looked straight into Neji's eyes. "That's it, Neji! I'm sorry but this just isn't working out! I've tried so many, _too_ many, times to try and help you and maybe _change_ you for the better, but nothing's worked!" Tenten shouted, on the verge of tears. "It's over, Neji! Okay?! I'm sorry I have to do this to you! I know you love me! I know! I know, but I still…I just can't do this anymore!" Tenten wiped a stream full of tears from her face. "This isn't the way I pictured it. I know nothing is ever the way you want it to be, but this is just too much! I can't take it. I know you've been trying so hard and so long to try to be what I say I want you to be, but I can't live like this. You and I both need to think about our priorities. You have your stuff and I have mine. I need some time by myself, okay?" Tenten had her head hanging low, with her fists still clenched tightly.

"Fine." Neji said unemotionally.

Tenten slowly lifted her head to Neji. "Wha--"

"Fine." Neji said again.

Tenten hung her head back down. She nodded. Tenten grabbed the key from the table and walked out of the door.

* * *

_After 'walking quickly' to the closest store and back…_

"I'm back." Shikamaru said lazily, closing the door behind him. "I bo--" He sighed. 'And she says _I_ sleep too much?'

Temari was lying down on the couch, fast asleep, after scratching herself to exhaustion.

'Eugh…that's not pretty.' Shikamaru thought. He saw Temari had scratched herself and was red everywhere. She also had some spots of blood coming from her left arm. Shikamaru sighed and shook his head to the ceiling. 'Great. Even _more_ troublesome.'

Shikamaru thought for a moment before walking over to Temari. 'Maybe she's awake…' He contemplated. 'She's done this before. Hmmm…' Then he thought for many _more_ moments. 'But if she's asleep…I should help her out. She _is_ my 'friend' and is kind of my girlfriend. But if she's awake…I'll be caught in a trap again. I can't have that happen again…' Shikamaru sighed again. 'Why do I have to be such a good guy?' He thought.

Shikamaru walked over to Temari, cautiously, with some chamomile lotion. Once he was almost to the end of the couch, where Temari's arms were, he decided it would be better if he risked his pride and let Temari win. He didn't have a lot of pride left anyways.

'I'm _pretty_ sure she's not awake. But I was wrong before…' Shikamaru thought right before he took out bandages from his pocket to wrap around Temari's slightly bloody arm.

* * *

Naruto sighed. 'I've never felt bad about eating more than one bowl of ramen.' He thought as he walked to the elevator with his hands in his pockets.

The elevator door opened as a couple stepped out.

"I like whatever makes you happy." A girl giggled a little as she walked out with her arm hooked around a boy's arm.

"_You_ make me happy. I like _you_." The boy pointed to the girl and tapped her on the nose.

The girl giggled and snuggled closer to the boy.

Naruto rolled his eyes and stepped inside the elevator. 'How corny.' He sighed. 'But still…why can't Sakura be like that girl?' Naruto thought.

'_You don't like that someone actually **cares** about you and only wants you to be happy?_' Naruto remembered Sakura's words to the point of insanity. 'I don't think she chose her words right.' He thought. 'Was she saying that no one else cares about me?' Naruto looked down, clenching his fists together.

'No. I've tried too long and too hard to have this happen to me again.' Naruto told himself. 'People care about me. I know they do. I learned that already.' Slowly, Naruto breathed in and out to control himself. 'I have people that care about me. Sakura's just--'

The elevator made a small 'ding' as the doors slid wide open.

Naruto walked out, with his head down, as someone else stepped in with _her_ head down.

* * *

'Chouji…what _is_ he to me?' Ino thought, lying on the couch with her hands behind her head. 'Is he _really_ the guy for me?' She sighed. "I'm not so sure anymore." Ino said aloud. 'Maybe he's just a really, really good friend.' She thought. 'But then again, maybe he's really the one for me. He could be the guy I've always wanted.'

"Wait a minute." Ino said out loud. "What _is_ the guy I've always wanted?' Ino thought long and hard about it. 'It used to be Sasuke…but I only liked him because every other girl liked him. I was _so_ stupid back then. Who _have_ I liked before?' She asked herself. 'I don't think I've ever liked anyone else…except Chouji, of course. That's kind of sad.'

'Of course I've dated other guys…I've never liked them that much though. I only dated them to…wow, I'm pretty shallow. I only dated boys to be popular, to have a reputation…I have in to the pressure of being a girl…how does Sakura do it? _She_ never dated anyone before Naruto…_she_ didn't care if people teased her for not having a boyfriend…or maybe she knew how to deal with it. Either way, I hate to admit it, but I envy her.'

* * *

Tenten stood outside of her room door. She leaned on the door and slid partway down. She decided to take her hair-buns down in case somebody came and asked if she was okay. Tenten was in no mood for talking. 'Why am I crying?' Tenten asked herself. '_I_ broke up with _him_.' She told herself. Tenten breathed in and out slowly to stop the crying. Then she stood up, with a little wobble in the beginning, but once she caught her balance, she went back to clenching her fists. 'I have to get out of here.' Tenten thought.

She headed to the elevator and waited, with her head low, in case anybody saw her watery, red face.

Once the elevator opened, Tenten stepped in, not noticing, because her hair was covering her view, that Naruto had his head down as well, walking out of the elevator with similar mixed emotions.

'If I get away…I can think about this more…until then…I can be someone new.' Tenten told herself.

* * *

Once Shikamaru finished bandaging Temari's arm, he opened the bottle of lotion. He sighed. 'Great…how am I supposed to put this on her?' He asked himself. Shikamaru glanced around the room to find something to spread the lotion over Temari's skin.

Once again, Shikamaru sighed. 'I guess I'll have to use my hand. Ugh…this is too troublesome…' He squeezed out the lotion onto Temari's arm.

"Ahhh!" Temari screamed and threw her arm into Shikamaru's direction.

"N-No!" Shikamaru said, but it was already over. His forehead was covered in light pink lotion. He sighed. "You troublesome woman…"

"What the heck did you do?!" Temari bellowed ever-too loudly.

"_I_…was putting _lotion_…on your _arm_." Shikamaru stated, as if it were obvious, in a very slow tone, for Temari to comprehend.

"Well that's some damn cold lotion!" Temari said very loudly again.

"Ugh…it's supposed to be cold." Shikamaru said. He stood up and walked to get a napkin to wipe his forehead. "Why'd you have to hit me with your arm?" He walked back and sat on the couch.

"Reflexes." Temari said simply, sitting up.

Shikamaru sighed. "Here." He threw the lotion lazily next to him, in Temari's lap. "I'm not gonna risk getting any more lotion on me."

"Fine then." Temari pouted making a quiet 'humph' sound. She opened the bottle of lotion and stuck her arm out. Then she squirted the lotion onto her skin. "Ahhh!" She, once again, threw her arm towards Shikamaru and hit him right in the mouth.

"Eugh…yuck. That's gross." Shikamaru ran over to the sink to wipe his mouth.

"Damn it! Why can't I get this stuff on without screaming?!" Temari said frustrated.

"That's what _I'd_ like to know." Shikamaru said, walking out, wiping a towel across his face. He sat back down next to Temari. "Maybe you should just sleep all day. You don't scratch when you sleep."

"Are you trying to get me in bed?" Temari said with a perverse mind.

"No!" Shikamaru looked shockingly at Temari. 'What was she thinking?'

"Sure you aren't." Temari said sarcastically. "Well, I guess it _would_ keep us in-character, huh?"

"I guess." Shikamaru said.

Temari sighed. "Fine. I don't know how you can sleep all day though. I'll probably get up in the middle of the night when this is over. Then I'll be _your_ problem." Temari stated.

Shikamaru sighed. "How troublesome."

"Indeed." Temari sighed.

"Wait. You agree with me?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in question.

"Yes…oh man." Temari put a hand to her forehead. "We're acting a little _too_ well. It's getting to our heads."

"And then we'll be each other…" Shikamaru added.

Shikamaru and Temari both shivered after imagining what it would be like if they were each other. "Eugh."

"I don't want to be you." They stated at the same time.

"Hey! Why _wouldn't_ you want to be me?" Temari asked, glaring at Shikamaru in a 'if-you-don't-answer-this-right-you're-going-to-pay-for-it' kind of way.

"Because I don't deserve you?" Shikamaru answered nervously.

"Good answer." Temari said, though she knew he didn't really mean that. 'I guess he's not _totally_ stupid.'

* * *

**A/N: **How was that? Kind of melodramatic during NejiTen, but it had to be done! Well, not really. Maybe it's because I love making Tenten change a lot. As for ShikaTema…hehe…I'll always make them the source of humor. It's so easy!

**Song: **Chris Brown - Say Goodbye. I coincidently was listening to this on iTunes Tuesday night, so I decided I might as well put it in the story. It's a nice song for NejiTen and maybe NaruSaku in this chapter.


	24. Day 4 Pitiful

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Did you notice that I only make Temari swear on a daily basis?**

**A/N: **Ugh…this is a shorter _and_ late chapter…hopefully it's still good…I _think_ it is…read my pwnsome disclaimers people!

**Published March 11, 2007**

**Chapter 24 - Pitiful**

'Just walking around this hotel…sucks…' Tenten sighed. 'I guess I can't really _change_ myself. That's kind of stupid. It's only a vacation. Everything will go back to normal once the week is over.' She thought. 'I guess I'll go back upstairs.'

Tenten stepped into the elevator, with many tourists coming out. 'I guess I'll have to face Neji _sometime_.' She thought as she rode up in the elevator.

_After many floors later…_

Tenten stepped out of the elevator. 'Hmm…' She thought. "I can't do it…" She said aloud. 'I'm such a wimp.' Tenten decided to sit down with her back against the wall.

"The door's straight ahead…why can't I go in there?" She whispered to herself out loud. 'I'm so stupid…'

* * *

_Next to Tenten, in room 1001…_

"Am I dying? This stuff isn't working! Shikamaru! What the hell is wrong with me?!" Temari exasperated.

'A lot of things.' Shikamaru answered Temari's rhetorical question in his head. He sighed. "Let's just think about this calm and rationally." He said. "You're itchy. I wasted a meal's worth of money. You're itchy. I actually almost ran all the way to the store and back. You're itchy. And this lotion is either defective or you're immune to it or something." Shikamaru stated as he looked at the bottle weirdly.

Temari rolled her eyes. "That doesn't help very much, genius."

"I was thinking out loud." Shikamaru said lazily.

"And since when have you _ever_ thought out loud?" Temari asked.

"Since I started being like you." Shikamaru said.

"I don't think out loud!" Temari said.

"Well you sure talk a lot. I need to think out loud to even _compare_ with how much talking _you_ do." Shikamaru said.

Temari glared at Shikamaru. "You suck."

"Nice comeback." Shikamaru commented sarcastically.

"I'll give _you_ a comeback!" Temari pulled her sleeve up with her hand in a fist.

"Hey! I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Shikamaru said nervously. "You're not itching anymore if you haven't noticed."

"Huh?" Temari backed off and looked at her arms. "Hm. You're right. Weird."

"Probably because you were talking to me and I distracted you from scratching." Shikamaru shrugged.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Ugh. You're so full of yourself." She crossed her arms.

"It's true." Shikamaru yawned.

"No it's not." Temari opposed.

"Fine then." Shikamaru said.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Temari asked frustrated at a silent Shikamaru. 'Oh crap.' Temari felt a tingly feeling in her arms. "Damn it!" She scratched her arms up like crazy with anger from proving that Shikamaru was right.

Shikamaru sighed. "I'd do something, but you don't think I can help your itching at all."

"Ugh! Fine! You win! I need your help. Just hurry up already!" Temari admitted quickly and loudly.

"Umm…what do I do?" Shikamaru asked.

"What?! You don't know what to do?!" Temari bellowed.

"Well, I was just talking to you before. I guess I just talk?" Shikamaru scratched his scalp with his finger.

Temari sighed. "Much better. Just keep talking, crybaby."

"This is so troublesome." Shikamaru said. "So how long do I have to talk for?" He asked.

"Until I find out how to cure whatever's making me itch." Temari answered.

* * *

"That was scary…" Kankuro said, holding a pillow to his chest tightly. '_Now_ what am I going to do? Everybody else is in a relationship. That sucks!'

_An hour later…_

Naruto sighed. He trudged to the couch, next to Kankuro, who was still clutching a pillow. Naruto looked to his side and noticed Kankuro. "Hmm? What are you doing with that pillow?" He asked.

"None of your business." Kankuro said. He turned away from Naruto and held his pillow closer.

Naruto sighed. "Whatever." He responded. "I think Sakura's breaking up with me…" He told Kankuro.

"Hmm?" Kankuro turned back to Naruto.

"Yeah…we kinda got in a fight." Naruto explained.

"You did?" Kankuro felt a little happier. 'I know I shouldn't be happy, but this is great!'

"Sakura's been acting like my mother…if I had one, that is." Naruto said.

"Yeah." Kankuro nodded.

"It really annoyed me, so I told her that I could take care of myself…and here I am…" Naruto finished.

"I see." Kankuro bobbled his head.

_Many minutes of talking later…_

"But at least I _did_ have a girlfriend. Isn't that right, Kankuro?" Naruto grinned, patting Kankuro on the back.

Kankuro glared at Naruto 'emo'-ly. "Get out."

"Wha--What?" Naruto stuttered.

"Get out!" Kankuro pushed Naruto off of the couch.

"Ahh!" Naruto tried to balance himself so he wouldn't fall, but he failed miserably. "Oww..." He rubbed his butt. "What was _that_ for?"

"Just go sulk somewhere else." Kankuro said.

Naruto pouted and crossed his arms. "Humph." He uncrossed his arms and pushed himself off of the floor. "Fine then." He mumbled. He walked out of the room and quietly closed the door.

_Once Naruto was outside…_

'That little punk.' Kankuro thought. 'Rubbing it in…I haven't had a girlfriend since…' He sighed. 'Life sucks.'

_Outside in the hallway…_

"Humph." Naruto pouted again. 'Kankuro always bosses me around…hmm?' He looked at someone sitting next to his feet. "Hey." Naruto greeted.

"Hi." Tenten sighed.

"Why are _you_ sitting here?" Naruto asked.

Tenten sighed again. "Sulking."

"Hmph…" Naruto chuckled slightly. He sat down next the Tenten. "Me too."

"Why are _you_ sulking? You have a perfect relationship with Sakura." Tenten said.

"Not at all. We're nowhere near perfect." Naruto said, looking gloomily down at the floor.

"You're doing better than me and Neji." Tenten said.

Naruto paused. "_That's_ true."

"Thanks for being so considerate." Tenten said sarcastically to Naruto.

"It's _true_." Naruto muttered.

"Sometimes it's better not to tell the truth." Tenten sighed.

"Yeah…don't _I_ know it…" Naruto sighed along with Tenten. "We have sucky relationships."

"We _had_ sucky relationships." Tenten corrected.

Naruto sighed. "You're right. By the time we figure out how wrong we are, we won't have anybody to forgive us."

"Yup. You're not as stupid as I thought you were." Tenten nodded.

"Thanks…I think." Naruto said. "Hey, I have an idea!"

"What?" Tenten asked.

"Maybe _we_ should go out!" Naruto said.

"No." Tenten said flatly, looking at Naruto like he had just said the stupidest thing in the world.

"Fine…it was just an idea." Naruto mumbled.

"Well it was a _bad_ idea…" Tenten said. "You know what we need?"

"What?" Naruto asked.

"We need another person to sulk with…it's not very good with just two people sulking…" Tenten said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Naruto nodded.

_Like an answered prayer…_

Ino walked out of her room. She sighed loudly.

"Hi, Ino." Tenten welcomed lazily.

"Hey, Ino." Naruto greeted unenthusiastically.

"Hey you guys. What are you two doing down there?" Ino asked.

Tenten and Naruto both sighed.

"We're sulking…" Tenten answered.

"Yeah…" Naruto sighed.

"Can I sulk with you?" Ino asked.

"Of course. We needed a third person anyways." Tenten responded.

"Yeah, it was getting boring with just two people." Naruto added.

Tenten and Naruto scooted a little to the right to make more space for Ino. Ino sat down next to Naruto.

"So…what do we do now?" She turned to ask Naruto and Tenten.

"We sulk." Naruto and Tenten answered simply.

* * *

"How the hell _did_ I get this itch?" Temari asked herself and Shikamaru.

"Maybe you used the hotel soap." Shikamaru answered the first thing that came out of his head. He _did_ have to basically talk non-stop. Then he continued to mumble other random possibilities.

"I haven't used any of the hotel products. I didn't even use their towels."

"Maybe it's something you ate." Shikamaru tried to answer again. Then he started mumbling on about other random things like why most medicines are only cherry or grape flavored and woodchucks are called woodchucks when they don't chuck wood.

"I doubt it. What have I eaten…?" Temari tapped her finger on her chin and thought about the question. "Wait a minute…" She said quietly.

"So if a woodchuck can't chuck wo--" Shikamaru continued his conversation with himself.

"You!" Temari pointed her finger at Shikamaru, rudely. "It's _your_ fault!" She shouted.

"Wha--wait a minute. It's _my_ fault? How is it _my_ fault?" Shikamaru asked.

"Your damn chestnuts you ass!" Temari continued to point at Shikamaru. "Thanks a lot you idiot!" She said sarcastically.

"How do you know it was the chestnuts?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's the only thing out-of-the-ordinary I've eaten! You! I could _kill_ you!" Temari clutched her arms into fists.

Shikamaru slowly backed away from Temari inch-by-inch. "B-But I didn't know." He tried to excuse.

"I. Don't. Care!" Temari hollered. "Because of you, my skin is itchy and red and bleeding! You are so dead!" Temari yelled.

* * *

_Many hours of sulking later…_

"So, that's what happened." Ino sighed loudly.

"That's almost as bad as mine." Tenten said.

"It's worse than you." Ino disagreed.

"No, it's not." Tenten argued.

"Yes, it is." Ino argued back.

"That's nowhere near as bad as mine." Naruto said.

"True." Ino and Tenten said at the same time.

"This is kind of sad…" Tenten commented.

"_Kind _of sad? This is pitiful." Ino said.

"Yeah…I'd pity us…I _do_ pity us." Naruto said.

All three ninjas sighed.

_12 minutes later…_

"You know what we have to do?" Tenten said.

"What?" Ino and Naruto said hopelessly.

"We have to go back to our partners! We have to say sorry and tell them how stupid we were." Tenten said enthusiastically.

"They already know how stupid we are…" Ino sighed.

"Well we have to do something! We can't just sit here and do nothing!" Tenten said.

"But we've been doing nothing for the past…umm…five or six hours." Naruto guessed.

"Wait a minute! Tenten's right!" Ino shot up from her slouching position.

"I am?" Tenten said.

"She is?" Naruto said at the same time as Tenten.

"Yeah! We need to do something! And I know exactly what to do!" Ino cheered.

"What?" Tenten and Naruto asked.

* * *

**A/N: **So late…well…yeah…guess what? Daylight Saving time! We lose an hour…how sad. Also, my sister's officially getting married, according to Chinese tradition, today, March 11.

**Song: **I changed this song last minute. It _was_ going to be How To Save a Life - The Fray and It's Not Over - Daughtry, but after I typed this chapter, it didn't fit in very well. I chose Pitiful - Blindside. Indeed, as said, the sulking ninjas are pitiful. It's a good song worth listening to.


	25. Day 4 Forever

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I make Temari swear and whip Shikamaru to death…isn't that what love's all about?**

**A/N: **I'm going to high school! lol. No durr. But anyways, I'm going to my first-choice high school that's like the top high school in the city! (What a show-off!) Well, yeah…just wanted to fill this author's note up. I'm gonna miss so many people! 

**Published March 26, 2007**

**Chapter 25 - Forever**

_With Ino, Tenten, and Naruto…_

"Why didn't _we _think of that?" Tenten said. "It's so simple!"

"Exactly. All we have to do is ask Shikamaru and Temari. I mean, just look at them. They're the exact opposites and yet they have an everlasting relationship." Ino said, sounding smart.

Naruto nodded his head. "So all we have to do is ask them what they do?" He asked.

"Yup. We can learn a lot from them." Ino admitted.

"Okay!" Tenten exclaimed.

"Dattebayo! Let's go!" Naruto stood up, with Ino and Tenten following suit.

Ino knocked on the door closest to the three loners.

There was no answer.

Ino shrugged at Ino and Naruto. She tried opening the door. "Hey…the door's unlocked." Ino twisted the knob, opening the door wide.

"You damn ass!" Temari shouted at Shikamaru. "Get back here!"

"Kagemane no jutsu (shadow copy technique)!" Shikamaru said, with his hands in position. "I said sorry!" He said, turning to run out the door. "Huh?" Shikamaru stared at Ino, Naruto, and Tenten. "What are you guys doing?" He asked, out of breath.

"We should be asking you the same thing." Ino said, crossing her arms.

"What is going on in there?" Tenten asked.

"Probably more smexing." Ino whispered loudly to Tenten.

"Eww." Naruto commented.

"Don't be so immature, Naruto." Ino crossed her arms.

"Umm…so _why_ are you here?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, we w--" Ino started.

"Oh, crap." Shikamaru let go of his shadow. "Damn it. I gotta go." He ran, actually really ran, to the elevator, pressing the down button repeatedly.

"Get back here you dumb-ass." Temari ran after Shikamaru.

"Oh, Kami. I've always been too lazy to ask you for anything. Now, I need something. Anything! Please!" Shikamaru started begging. He continued to press the down button repeatedly, even though he knew it wouldn't help.

As if Kami was answering Shikamaru prayers, the elevator door opened, with a group of rude American tourists came running out (**A/N:** xP lol.).

'Damn.' Temari thought. She moved out of the way as the swarm of people ran through the hall.

Shikamaru slid into the elevator as quickly as possible and pressed the close button constantly until it finally closed. He sighed in relief. 'Great…now that I've avoided her now, I have to find a cure for her itching or…I'm dead.'

"Damn, that Nara." Temari cursed.

"What happened to _you_?" Naruto asked, noticing Temari's redness.

Temari glared at Naruto. "Shikamaru…he's dead meat."

"Maybe they were smexing too much." Ino whispered loudly to Tenten.

"I heard that. If Shikamaru was less of a lazy-ass, maybe that would be true! But _no_…he had to be a nice guy and give me an allergic reaction!" She said angrily.

"Wow…that's quite a predicament." Ino bobbled her head.

"Yeah…no wonder you're trying to…kill him?" Naruto assumed.

"Yup. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a certain genius I need to hunt down." Temari said.

"See ya!" Ino and Tenten waved goodbye.

Naruto had his hand on his chin. "Wait a minute. What are we going to do now?!" He realized.

"Oh, crud…he's right." Ino said.

Tenten sighed. "I guess it's back to sulking." She sat back down on the floor.

Ino and Naruto followed suit.

* * *

'Where would Temari never find me…?' Shikamaru asked himself as he stood in the elevator. 'What's the most out-of-character thing I would do?'

Just then, the elevator doors opened with a group of annoying little boys running in, playing around and chasing each other.

'Yeah! That's _it_!' Shikamaru found an idea. He quickly pressed one of the buttons on the elevator and waited to get out of the, now crammed, elevator.

* * *

'I haven't seen Ino in a long while…I wonder if something happened.' Chouji wondered. 'No. Ino's a strong ninja. She can surely take care of herself.' He told himself. 'Yup…'

* * *

The elevator door opened as Shikamaru sighed in relief. 'Finally, I got away from those troublesome kids. Now, I'll be able to stay away fro--'

"Took you long enough." Temari smirked. "You're such a troublesome kid." She said, leaning on a game machine with her arms crossed.

Shikamaru sighed. 'Just because I'm three years younger than her, she has to call me a kid…'

"I'm thinking more like you each minute, huh?" Temari stood up straight and put her hands on her hips. "Of course you would go to the one place you'd be too lazy to go to. The arcade _is_ pretty troublesome…but I guess you didn't think I would've thought of that, huh?" Temari sighed falsely. "I am hurt, Shikamaru." She said sarcastically. "You're not giving me very much credit." She pouted mockingly.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. You're smart; I admit it."

"Thank you. But you know, you're still gonna get your butt kicked." Temari stuck out her tongue childishly.

Shikamaru sighed. "Awww man."

"You whine too much!" Temari said. "Now, get me something to stop this damn itching!" She commanded.

Shikamaru sighed. "You whine too much." He mocked. "There _is_ a probable cure. All you need is this." Shikamaru took out a small brown star from his pocket.

"What the hell is that?" Temari pointed to the star.

"It's a star anise." Shikamaru said.

"Wha? What are you gonna do? Kill me with that thing?" (**A/N:** It's a reference to Japanese star anise that is highly toxic.) Temari said.

Shikamaru sighed. "Not _Japanese_ star anise. It's Chinese star anise. It took a while to find it, but it was worth the trouble. Just put it in your mouth and suck on it for a while."

Temari looked at Shikamaru suspiciously. "Hmmm…are you sure this'll work?" She took the star anise.

"Of course! I wouldn't have gotten it if I wasn't sure. Now _that_ would've been troublesome." Shikamaru reassured. (**A/N:** I just made up that the star anise is supposed to heal Temari. So let's pretend star anise really _does_ heal her scratching.)

"Then why didn't you give it to me before?" Temari continued to doubt Shikamaru.

"Because you were trying to kill me you troublesome woman! I couldn't think straight." Shikamaru answered.

Temari shrugged. "Fine." She gave in. Temari put the star in her mouth and starting sucking on it. "Tastes like licorice." She commented.

Shikamaru shrugged. "A lot of people say that."

Temari continued to suck on the star with sucking noises included. "Come on, let's go." She said to Shikamaru. "If I'm gonna suck on this, I might as well talk some sense into the sulkers upstairs as well."

Shikamaru sighed and followed Temari into an elevator that just happened to have opened a moment ago with some American tourists exiting.

* * *

'I wonder how everyone else's life is going.' Kankuro sighed. 'I don't have a very exciting life.' He admitted to himself. 'I don't even have anyone my age around here…the closest people are Temari…and _them_. (**A/N:** 'them' is Neji and Tenten.)'

* * *

_In the elevator…_

"Why did you try to hide from me? You know you'll just end up in more trouble. Come on, Shikamaru, even _Naruto_ is smarter than _that_." Temari shook her head in disappointment. "I am saddened by how low your IQ has dropped." She continued to tease.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Shikamaru said.

"Awww, what's wrong. Is little Shikamaru too lazy to think of a comeback?" Temari talked in a pouting voice with puppy-dog eyes.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Then he yawned. "Yes, yes I am." Shikamaru decided to say.

* * *

_On the 100th floor…_

"So…we just wait for Temari to come up with Shikamaru?" Tenten asked.

"I guess." Ino answered.

"Maybe it would be easier if I just talked to Neji…and _you_ just talk to Chouji." Tenten shrugged.

"Maybe…but then again…I doubt there'll be peace in the end." Ino sighed. "I _have_ thought a _lot_ about me and Chouji though…and I've come to the conclusion, that I am an idiot."

"What?" Tenten said. "How can you be an idiot? You're not an idiot." She said.

"I am an idiot." Ino said again. "I made a stupid decision without thinking it through. I made Chouji my boyfriend…I never thought it through. It was just a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. You know what I mean?" Ino said.

"Yeah…I know _all_ _about_ spur-of-the-moment deals." Tenten sighed. "But Neji and I weren't a spur-of-the-moment kind of couple, were we?"

"Nope." Ino said, putting her head against the wall and staring up at the ceiling.

Tenten sighed heavily. "We always thought everything out. If we didn't, we wouldn't go through with it. But sadly," She looked down at her legs. ", I made a big mistake that Neji couldn't fix." Tenten looked at Ino. "Ino, here's a tip. Never, and I mean _never_, run back to your ex and try to patch things up with him, okay?" She said.

Ino nodded to Tenten. "Got it."

Tenten said. "Good."

_10 seconds later…_

"Hmm…" Tenten said.

"What?" Ino looked at Tenten strangely.

"I haven't heard Naruto talk for a while." Tenten said.

"Oh, is _that_ all? Naruto can be as lazy as Shikamaru sometimes. He just fell asleep. Surprisingly, he isn't snoring." Ino giggled a little.

Tenten laughed a bit as well. "Well, there _was_ something _else_ I was thinking about." She put cuffed her hands together. "Do you think Neji and I make a good couple?"

"Of course I do! You're kind of like Shikamaru and Temari if you think about it. You're pretty different from each other, but you complete each other perfectly. You're just going through problems that every couple goes through." Ino smiled.

"Thanks, Ino; same to you. You and Chouji are just going through a small problem that every couple goes through." Tenten said to Ino.

Ino smiled half-heartedly, trying to believe Tenten as much as possible.

"Well now that we've got _that_ settled," Tenten stood up. ", I think I've struck up the confidence to talk to Neji again." She held her hand in a fist with confidence.

"Well good for _you_." Ino crossed her arms with a pout. "You're going to make-up with Neji and leave me to sulk with Naruto."

Tenten put her hands on her hips. "Ino!"

"Just kidding! Gosh. You don't have to take everything so seriously." She said joked.

"Whatever." Tenten walked over to room 1000.

Suddenly, one of the _most_, if not _the_ most, unexpected events occurred.

* * *

**A/N: **I've never liked cliffhangers, so I gave all those cliffhanger-haters, like myself, another chapter! Am I a good person or what? lol. Yeah right…I just feel bad for not posting a new chapter in two weeks! lol. You choose whichever reason you want. Maybe, I'm like the current Naruto Shippuuden animators and just like airing new episodes every two weeks and making it a one-hour special. I'm talking about Shippuuden episode 6 for those who are reading this long after episode 6 aired!

**Song: **Forever by Papa Roach. 'It's been a Helter Skelter the romance from the start' and 'my feelings for you are forever'. Now that's deep. lol. That was both sarcastic and true.


	26. Day 4 ForeverPt2 Say Goodbye

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't make people wait two weeks for a one-hour episode! I would even it out and have half-an-hour every week!**

**A/N: **Sigh. I'm kind of saddened…but at the same time, relieved. You choose your mood! By the end of the chapter, you'll probably change it, free of charge! (That made no sense at all.) Darn! I got this chapter in at 12:00 A.M.!

**Published March 27, 2007**

**Chapter 26 - Forever Pt.2/Say Goodbye**

"Aahhh!" Tenten screamed. "Oh my gosh! What's going on?!" She turned back to Ino.

"I think it's an earthquake." Ino said, trying to grab on to anything she could, but found nothing. "Naruto, you idiot, wake up!" Ino pushed Naruto back and forth aggressively.

"Hmm? What do you want, dattebayo? I was having a good nap. Stop shaking me! I'm awake already." Naruto whined.

"Naruto! I'm not shaking you anymore. I think it's an earthquake." Ino alerted.

Neji opened his door quickly. "Tenten!" He said. "We have to go now!" Neji alerted.

"Wait a minute! What about the others?" Tenten asked.

"It doesn't matter! We have to get out of here, _now_!" Neji grabbed Tenten wrist.

"And what are we, chopped liver?" Ino commented.

To Ino's delight, the door of room 1002 opened. Chouji saw Ino. "Ino! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ino said.

"We have to get out of here now!" Chouji said.

"Mm." Ino nodded. She stood up. "Come on, let's go, Naruto." Ino let out a hand to Naruto.

"Mm." Naruto nodded slightly and took Ino's hand and stood himself up.

Just then, two more doors opened--room 1003 and 1006.

Sakura was in her full fighting outfit with weapons at hand. She saw Naruto. "Naruto!" She said. "Are you alri--" Sakura stopped herself, reminding herself not to sound like Naruto's guardian. "Let's get out of here!" She said.

Kankuro was the other person who opened the door. "Come on!" He looked quickly at Tenten and then looked away after noticing that Neji was also there. 'She must be alright.' Kankuro inferred. "We don't have much time left if this keeps going."

* * *

As Temari and Shikamaru were in the elevator, it came to a sudden halt. 

"Shit! What the hell is going on?!" Temari complained with the star anise still in her mouth.

"The whole building must be shaking, but it's not an earthquake…" Shikamaru said.

"It's definitely not the same as an earthquake." Temari agreed. "It's probably a group of ninjas."

Shikamaru nodded.

"Great. Just great." Temari said sarcastically. "We're stuck in the elevator again. Now we have to think of a way to get out of here." She looked at Shikamaru for his answer. "I hope you know what to do, genius. You better not cry on me. We didn't watch all that TV for nothing." Temari smirked at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru smirked back. "Got it." He looked up at the ceiling. 'Yup.' Shikamaru took a sharp kunai out of his pocket.

"Do you always keep a kunai in your pocket?" Temari asked.

"No. Only when I'm with you. (**A/N: **If you think about that in a perverted way, it's kind of funny! XP)" Shikamaru joked. Then he used his chakra to climb the side of the wall until his kunai touched the ceiling.

Temari crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at Shikamaru. "Just open it already."

Shikamaru moved the kunai around a tile on the top of the elevator. "Done." The tile fell down.

"Ladies first." Temari grinned. She jumped up and out of the elevator.

Shikamaru sighed. He jumped down and jumped back up, following Temari out of the elevator.

"This would be so much easier if I had my fan." Temari pointed out, looking up.

"Eh. We seem to be only three floors from our room." Shikamaru said.

"Way ahead of you." Temari kicked her foot to the side of the wall, then kicked her other leg on the other wall, and continued to kick back from wall to wall until she reached the 100th floor sliding door. She put her fingers in the slit in the middle of the doors and pushed them apart. Slowly, the doors slid open and Temari entered the hallway.

Shikamaru sighed. 'Sometimes it's nice to have a woman stronger than you. Less troublesome for me.' He jumped from wall to wall and followed Temari to the 100th floor.

* * *

"Hey guys. I thought you would've been out of here by now, but I overestimated you." Temari said. 

"Maybe we were waiting for you." Ino said.

"Maybe. Or maybe you guys just didn't know how to get out of here." Temari said back.

"Jump out the window?" Naruto smirked.

"Oh yeah." Temari smiled deviously.

"Let's just go before this whole building and everyone else in it collapses." Neji said.

"Fine." Temari went into Neji's room and opened the balcony door. She jumped of the door and ran down the side of the building.

Shikamaru finally entered the 100th floor hallway. "Hey. Where'd Temari go?"

"She jumped out the window." Naruto said.

Shikamaru sighed. "She _goes_ too fast." He ran into Neji's room and out of the balcony, following Temari.

Neji followed along. Then Tenten, Ino, Sakura, Chouji, Naruto, and Kankuro followed as well.

* * *

"There they are." Naruto said. "Hey you!" 

One out of five of the enemy ninjas were looked at Naruto. "Hehe. Look, it's a brat in orange."

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)" Naruto created almost twenty clones that all went towards the ninja who underestimated him.

"Aahhh!" The ninja said. The clones clobbered him and basically punched him to a bloody pulp.

"Well that guy wasn't very good." Naruto scratched his head with his finger. "I'm kind of disappointed. I wanted an interesting battle."

_Meanwhile…_

Neji was fighting another ninja.

"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho! (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)" Neji said.

The other ninja didn't stand a chance. In a matter of seconds, Neji had successfully defeated the enemy.

"That was pitiful."

_Meanwhile…_

"Formation Ino-Shika-Cho!" Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji said.

"Kagemane no Jutsu. (Shadow Imitation Technique)" Shikamaru said. His shadow stretched to the ninja who was causing the shaking. He nodded to Ino.

Ino made a hand seal. "Shintenshin no Jutsu. (Mind Body Switch Technique)" She said. Her body was now motionless and fell into Chouji's arms. Ino's mind was now in the enemy's body. "Ready, Chouji."

"Here, Tenten." Chouji gave Ino's body to Tenten to hold. "Baika no Jutsu! (Multi-Size Technique)" Chouji turned into a huge ball. "Nikudan Sensha! (Human Bullet Tank)" He rolled towards the enemy's body.

"Release!" Ino sealed her hands right before Chouji crashed into the enemy ninja.

"That was easy!" Chouji said, walking back to Shikamaru, Ino, and Tenten.

Ino finally came to consciousness. "That was easier than usual." She first said.

Shikamaru nodded. "These ninjas seem to be very inexperienced."

"Hey! What do you guys think you're doing?!" One of the hotel service workers, a female with long green hair dressed in a white-collared shirt and black skirt with a blue jacket and a lovely black tie (**A/N:** Just trying to be specific for those who care about how this random person looks), came out.

"We're _trying_ to save everyone's _ass_ here!" Temari shouted angrily back.

"What is this '_we_'? You mean '_us_'! You and Kankuro just stood there watching." Naruto argued.

"Well what do you want us to do? We don't have our most useful weapons! You basically had everything covered anyways." Temari explained.

"You were probably just getting lazy like Shikamaru." Naruto said.

"Hn." Shikamaru responded.

_While that whole conversation occurred…_

"Wasn't that a group of ninjas?" Sakura asked the worker.

"Yes, but they were here doing their job." The worker sighed. "I guess you don't know too much about this hotel, huh?"

"No, not really." Sakura scratched the back of her head.

The green-haired girl smiled politely. "Well, you see, every other week, we have someone create 'earthquakes' or small shakes to the building. The owner wanted tourists to be able to experience everything Japan has to offer, like earthquakes. That's why these ninjas are here. It's an experience you can only find here at the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel."

"Isn't that bad for the foundation?" Sakura asked.

"No, no. Of course, we would never put our wonderful guests in harm. As you know, Japan is actually well-known for having many earthquakes. Well, our building, along with many others, has a foundation that is almost elastic and bendable. It's quite remarkable really. I guess you and your friends are tourists, huh?" The lady said.

"Heh, kinda." Sakura chuckled embarrassingly.

"Well, as much as I hate to say this," The lady looked behind Sakura to see the other ninjas. ", you and your friends are going to have to leave. I don't think the worker ninjas are going to be happy when they wake up. I don't think the ones awake are going to enjoy your company either."

"Wha--" Sakura sighed. "Okay. I don't blame you. We _did_ beat the bloody pulp out of them."

"Well, I have to go call the hospital or something. Goodbye!" The worker waved before turning around and heading back inside of the hotel.

"Goodbye." Sakura said politely. Then she turned around to the mess of ninjas. "Well," She said loud enough for everyone to hear. "Now that we've just been _kicked out of the hotel_…" She said even louder. "I guess we have to pack up now." Sakura said in her normal volume.

"Awww man! We try to do something good and we get in trouble! That's not fair!" Ino complained.

"Urgh. Who would've thought we're the only ninja in this damn hotel to beat the crap out of these guy!" Temari also complained.

"What's with this '_we_' again? It's '_us_'!" Naruto said.

"Will you end the whole 'we' and 'us' thing?!" Temari shouted.

"Not until you say it was 'us' and not 'we'!" Naruto shouted back.

"Who cares?!" Temari argued.

"I care!" Naruto retorted.

"Well I don't!" Temari said.

"Well I do!" Naruto continued to argue.

"Gosh. Do you two have to be so loud?" Shikamaru said with a finger in his ear.

"Shut up!" Naruto and Temari shouted at the same time to Shikamaru.

"You know what guys? We should be trying to heal the guys we beat up." Ino suggested.

"Way ahead of you!" Sakura said, healing one of the ninjas. "This is the last one. I think the other guys ran away or something." She shrugged.

Everyone else shrugged (even Neji and Shikamaru).

"Woah, what happened here? We miss a party or something?" Kiba said, walking with his arm around Hinata's waist. "Awww, I always miss the good stuff."

"You missed some bad news Kiba and Hinata. We got kicked out for hurting working ninjas." Sakura notified.

"What?! How the heck did _that_ happen?!" Kiba asked.

"Well, there's good news! Nobody's dead!" Sakura tried to act happy.

"Oh great. Nobody died." Kiba said sarcastically.

"I didn't really like this vacation anyways." Hinata opinionated.

"What? What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Kiba asked.

"Nothing. I just kind of feel homesick." Hinata said.

"Oh." Kiba said. "So what do we do now?" He asked no one in particular.

"Pack up and go I guess." Ino shrugged.

* * *

_Inside the hotel…_

"I'm sorry, Sakura." Naruto said as he and Sakura walked up the stairs to the 100th floor.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be worrying about you so much. This trip has really showed me how much of an ass I can be." Sakura sighed.

"You're not an ass, Sakura! You just…ummm…you're a little too bossy sometimes. That's all." Naruto tried to say as nicely as possible.

"Well, in any case, I don't really deserve an apology. So let's just keep things as friends for now, okay?" Sakura said.

"Yeah." Naruto said. "When I become Hokage, I can start thinking about us being a couple, dattebayo!"

"Well that's going to be a while." Sakura joked.

"It's going to be soon! I just have to get Granny Tsunade to retire!" Naruto grinned.

Sakura giggled. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try. She still could whip your butt."

"Granny Tsunade. Please. No way. I'm much stronger than her!" Naruto put his hand in a fist. "Dattebayo!"

_About 10 floors above Naruto and Sakura…_

"So…thanks for caring." Ino said quietly.

"I'll always care for you, Ino." Chouji said.

"Why do you have to be like that?" Ino asked rhetorically.

"Be like what?" Chouji asked confused about what Ino was talking about.

"Why do you have to be so nice and sweet and perfect?" Ino said.

"Perfect, please. I'm not even close to being perfect." Chouji said.

"Well you seem pretty close to me." Ino said.

"Thanks for the compliment, but no one's perfect or even close." Chouji said.

"Well you're pretty close." Ino said. "But I'm not."

"I don't want you to be perfect. I don't want you to be anywhere near perfect." Chouji said.

"There you go again! You're all nice and whatnot! It's driving me crazy." Ino said, trying to keep her voice down. "I'm not worthy of your love." She said.

"What are you talking about?" Chouji asked, just as confused as before.

"I'm saying that we're not a very matching couple." Ino said.

"Well neither are a lot of couples." Chouji said.

"We're complete opposites." Ino said.

"So are Shikamaru and Temari and Kiba and Hinata." Chouji said.

Ino sighed. "I don't want a relationship right now, okay? As hard as it is for even _me_ to believe, I've had enough boys for a while. I won't be ready for a while either." Ino said, finally letting out the truth.

"That's fine." Chouji said.

"It is?" Ino said surprised.

"Yeah, it is."

_A couple of floors above…_

"I'm sorry! I should have never doubted you! I didn't know what I was doing. I think I was just in a bad mood. I didn't mean whatever I said before. I love you Neji!" Tenten said as quickly as a cheetah on steroids. (**A/N:** I made that up right on the spot! XP)

If Neji wasn't as smart as he was, he would've probably understood completely nothing Tenten had just said, but luckily Neji's a genius.

Neji grabbed Tenten's hand with his own and hugged Tenten.

"Hey you up there! We're right behind you, you know!" Kiba shouted.

"Neji! Not in public!" Hinata said, sounding like Neji's mother if he had one.

"Oh, gosh. They're just hugging." Temari said. "It's not like their smexing or anything." Temari chuckled.

"What? Like you and Shikamaru?" Kiba raised a curiously naughty-minded eyebrow at Temari.

"Yeah." Temari smirked at Kiba.

"Wha?" Shikamaru said off-guard.

"Well, well. Looks like Shikamaru lied about being a virgin." Kiba put his hands behind his head.

"And you are?" Temari asked.

"Well, yeah…" Kiba said, part of him kind of embarrassed.

"Awww, a cute little baby still." Temari stuck out her tongue at Kiba.

Shikamaru sighed. "This is so troublesome."

* * *

_Outside of the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel…_

"Hello my youthful friends! I came back here as soon as I heard your call!" Rock Lee said.

"Well, great. Here's your stuff." Tenten gritted through her teeth.

"Huh? But why does everyone have their belongings packed up already? Did we not have a week's stay at the Moonlight Tokyo Hotel?" Rock Lee said confused.

"We _did_, but _some_ people just had to beat some workers up, to a bloody pulp, I might add." Temari answered for Tenten.

"Why would su--" Rock Lee started.

"Don't ask, Lee. Just…don't ask." Neji advised.

"Hai!" Rock Lee nodded.

"Hey, you know what?" Sakura asked everyone.

"What?" Everyone turned to Sakura.

"Well, I was thinking, since we have a couple days left, we could just relax on the beach or something. I think we have enough money to get a decent hotel, right?" Sakura said.

"True." Ino said. "To the beach?!"

"To the beach!" Naruto said.

"Shikamaru's paying!" Ino said.

"Yeah."

"Totally."

"Yup!"

"Thank you, Shikamaru!" Hinata said politely.

"Wait a minute! I thought you said you felt homesick!" Kiba said.

"I do! I'm sick of home!" Hinata smiled.

_**The End**_

* * *

**A/N: **That's it! Are some of you annoyed, let down, sighing and tsk-ing me? Well, if you are, good for _you_ sarcasticness! I just wanted to end it now so I could start on **_TWO_** of the most pwnsome ShikaTema story you should read, Why Temari Wears Gloves and Moments/A Moment With You. 

**WHICH TITLE DO YOU LIKE BETTER, Moments OR A Moment With You? PLEASE TELL ME YOUR OPINION! **

**Song: **Forever by Papa Roach again and Say Goodbye by S Club 7. 'One last kiss before I go' and 'It is time to let you go' from Forever seem to fit rather well. 'I'll miss your love in every way' and 'Cause true love never dies' seems to be a good ending title from Say Goodbye. I'm singing Say Goodbye for my 8th grade talent show! lol.


End file.
